Torture inside bakery: Gombe First Lady visits victim in hospital

Gombe State First Lady, Hajiya Asma’u Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has paid a sympathy visit to the 14-year-old boy, Nafi’u Alhaji Usman, who was tortured by a bakery operator in Bajoga, Funakaye Local Government Area of the state, for allegedly stealing bread.

The First Lady, in the company of the state Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Na’omi Joel Awak, was at the bedside of the teenager at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe on Saturday, in order to get a first-hand assessment of his health condition.

While sympathising with the ailing victim and his traumatised parents, Hajiya Asma’u described the heinous act as the peak of heartlessness.

She said: “As a mother, I was devastated by the dastardly act unleashed on a helpless child who was only striving to earn a decent living.”

ALSO READ: Gombe gov closes bakery, condemns torture of 14-yr-old boy over theft

She urged the victim’s parents to be strong while assuring them of the state government’s commitment to ensuring that perpetrators of the act are made to suffer the consequences of their action.

The First Lady later donated an undisclosed amount of money to the teen and other patients on admission at the paediatric surgical ward.

While addressing the parents of the child, she said, “though the state government has undertaken to foot the medical bills of the victim, as a mother, that would not stop me from donating a token to the parents to meet other financial needs.”

She added that, “it is our hope that the punitive measure that will be taken against the perpetrators of this heinous act by the authorities will serve as a deterrent to others with a similar motive to have a rethink.”

In her remarks earlier, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Na’omi Joel Awak, said the state government would keep working closely with stakeholders at all levels to ensure that all human rights abuses are brought to an end in the state.