Victims demand justice after Maiduguri woman assaulted with sticks, iron rods, suspect walks free
By: Zagazola Makama
The scene at old GRA on Thursday evening was one of pain and outrage. Fatima Usman lay on a hospital bed, her body marked with bruises, her face swollen, her voice weak as she recounted how neighbours turned into predators, savagely beating her with sticks and iron rods until she passed out.
Her attackers were not strangers. They were her next-door neighbours a woman, Hauwa Abdullahi, and three boys, including her son and two accomplices. Together, they set upon Fatima with the kind of coordinated violence that suggested this was no sudden quarrel but an act of intimidation.
“I only tried to escort my frightened child,” Fatima whispered, her eyes welling up. “But Hauwa and her boys descended on me with sticks and iron rods until I became unconscious.”
It was not the first time Fatima’s family had crossed paths with Hauwa. Earlier that same evening, Hauwa’s children had beaten Fatima’s children when they went to fetch water. When Fatima’s husband, Miki Muhammed, intervened, he thought the matter was over. Hours later, his wife was in hospital fighting for her life.
“I called my husband, who went to intervene and cautioned them to stop. Later, as I tried to escort my frightened child, Hauwa, in the company of three grown-up boys, including her son, an almajiri and another boy from the neighbourhood, descended on me with sticks and iron rods until I became unconscious,” Fatima recounted.
She was rushed to Horoma Clinic in New GRA, where doctors battled to resuscitate her.
Her husband, Miki Muhammed, who filed a complaint at the GRA Police Station, confirmed that Hauwa was briefly arrested but released a day after without consequence.
“This is not Hauwa’s first offence. She has a long history of violence. She once attacked a neighbour’s wife in the same compound, breaking her wrist. She already has a case in court over assault and another petition pending before the National Human Rights Commission. Yet, police set her free again,” Miki lamented.
“Despite this record, police at the GRA station in Maiduguri released her without charge, without condition, and without explanation. The police told us to go, saying they will look for us. Is this how justice works? Must someone die before action is taken?” he fumed.
“This is how justice works in Borno?” Miki asked bitterly. “The police told us to go, saying they will look for us. My wife was nearly killed, and yet the woman was freed to come home the next day, threatening to attack again.”
Neighbors say Hauwa Abdullahi has become a menace, notorious for attacking people, yet enjoys impunity because of the people that she knows among the law enforcement agencies.
Miki has appealed to the Borno Commissioner of Police, the State Government and the National Human Rights Commission to “wake up from their slumber” and ensure justice for his family.
