August 14, (THEWILL) — The Sokoto State Chapter of Gender Based Violence/Child Protection Response Team (SGBV/RT) has called for the immediate prosecution of a suspect, Fausiyya Rabo Dogon Daji, who allegedly trafficked and maltreated a 14-year-old girl, Bashariya Usman, under her custody.
The group said the prolonged silence from the relevant authorities was feared to be an element of compromise, which is capable of hampering justice.
According to the group, a very scary and disturbing video of a brutalised 14-year-old Bashariya Usman emerged on the 4th of June, 2025, setting the social media space agog with utter bewilderment over such a degree of human cruelty.
Speaking during a meeting held in Sokoto, the State capital, Chairman of the group, Malam Rabiu Gandi, appealed to the Nigeria Police and National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to avoid the hide-and-seek game over the case.
Following the development, Gandi said an initial formal complaint was sent to the Director General of NAPTIP through the Sokoto Zonal Command of the agency, wherein it was stated that Fausiya Rabo Dogon Daji employed one 14-year-old Bashariya Usman, whose parents fled banditry attacks in Zamfara to Sokoto as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
“Fausiya took the innocent girl to Abuja as a maid with the promise to the girl’s parents that she will give the girl a better life by enrolling her in a part-time school.”
The complaint letter added, however, said that “since their arrival in Abuja, Fausiyya Rabo had starved, assigned excessive household chores, beaten, maltreated, physically and emotionally abused, isolated and subjected the young Bashariya to torture, amongst other degrading experiences.
He thanked members for their sustained commitment to the noble cause of working towards ensuring a society free of all forms of violence, be it emotional, psychological, physical, economic or otherwise
Also speaking, Baba Shehu Usman, the Regional Coordinator of Grassroots Initiative for Strengthen Community Resilience (GISCOR), decried that the growing Internally Displaced Persons is posing a great risk for rape and violence. He, therefore, called on the government to come to their aid.
Present at the meeting are the State chapter NBA chairman, NACTAL National President, Chairman of the State Response Team, Sokoto Director of Public Prosecution, Officer in Charge of Gender Desks from the Nigeria Police and NSCDC, as well as that of NAPTIP.
Others are the State Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Women and Children Affairs, the Gender Focal Officer of the State Primary Health Care, leaders and representatives from various CSOs, CBOs, as well as Media houses.
Tunde Omolehin is an award-winning Journalist with prose in investigative and storytelling that is connecting the dots between the under-reported communities and policymakers to ensure good governance and accountability.
