A seven-year-old girl identified as Habiba (not real name) has been left in excruciating pain after her brother’s wife allegedly burnt her private part with a hot knife in Magama Gumau, Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
The suspect, one Suwaira Ibrahim, was said to have accused the minor of witchcraft after her own child claimed to have seen the victim among a group of “witches.”
A community activist, Kabiru Mohammed Abdulkadir, told journalists that Suwaira subsequently took the child to a so-called spiritualist who reportedly declared that Habiba was not a witch.
However, dissatisfied with the verdict, the suspect allegedly returned home, heated a knife and pressed it on the girl’s private part, insisting that if she was indeed a witch, she would not feel pain.
“It was her loud cries that attracted neighbours,” Abdulkadir narrated. “When we rushed to the house, we met her writhing in pain. We insisted the case be reported to the police.”
In a video obtained by Salient Times, the minor’s private part and thighs were visibly charred and rotting, with neighbours lamenting that the stench from the wound now pervades the household. The girl, it was learnt, also struggles to urinate and defecate.
The victim has since been rushed to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, for urgent medical attention.
Confirming the incident, Bauchi State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Ahmed Wakil, said the case was first reported at the Toro Divisional Headquarters before being transferred to the State Command in Bauchi.
“We are aware of it. Initially, some people attempted to cover up the case at the community level, but we insisted it must be brought to the Command. A full statement will be issued as soon as investigations progress,” Wakil stated.
