Niger State to prosecute parents of children found in torture house

‎The Niger State Government has said it will prosecute ‎parents of 15 children that were recently discovered in a torture house in Suleja.

Director General of the state’s‎ Child Rights Protection Agency, ‎Hajiya Mariam Kolo,‎ disclosed this on Monday, during a visit to the COVID-19 isolation centre in Minna, where the children are receiving medical attention.‎
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The police had on July 18, rescued the children from a house disguised as an Islamic study centre.

The children were said to have been physically abused, chained by their teacher and had scars all over their bodies.

‎Noting that parents of the children would be prosecuted once the ongoing strike by the state labour union is called off, Kolo appealed to parents to enrol their children in Islamic schools within their communities, instead of sending them to strangers. ‎

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‎She said, “The children are doing fine now, we have been taking good care of them in terms of feeding and medical care and until we are sure they are out of danger medically before we will reunite them with their families.

“There are enough Islamic schools within their locality, children are supposed to be blessings to society rather than a burden.

“These children from every indication do not have moral training.

“Henceforth, any parents caught sending their children away from home to other places will be dealt with decisively.”‎