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Ganduje, Sanusi differ on fate of kidnapped kids’ parents

By Murtala Adewale, Kano
11 November 2019   |   4:10 am
The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, and the governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, are on the same page that the act of kidnapping innocent children remains a crime...

The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, and the governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, are on the same page that the act of kidnapping innocent children remains a crime, but they seem to disagree on who should bear the brunt.

Although investigation is still in progress, Sanusi had insisted that the police must charge parents of the victims with criminal negligence.

Speaking at a public forum in Kano at the weekend, Sanusi confessed that he was not sure if such offence was truly operational, adding that the parents of the children deserved jail for failing in their responsibility.

But Ganduje vowed to ensure that the culprits face the full wrath of the law.

The governor, who had instituted a panel of inquiry into the mystery behind the incessant disappearance of children in the ancient city, dished out N1 million each to the parents of the nine children to cushion their trauma while their children were in captivity.

Besides, he revealed plans to peg capital punishment for kidnapping.

At the 2019 public campaign against drug abuse organised by League for Societal Protection Against Drugs Abuse (LESPADA), Sanusi queried what other responsibility should occupy the consciousness of any mother, if same could not protect her three years old baby.

He regretted that it was only in the North that children were abandoned, only for parents to heap blames on the government.

The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor said: “People are talking that Igbo kidnapped our children and yes they did, but did they enter our houses and steal them? Or you left your three-year-old child roaming the streets without knowing their whereabouts until they were found missing.”

“Let’s tell ourselves the truth; I could remember when the case started and complaints were filed at the palace of missing children, what I said at that time was, if I am the government, I would have ordered the arrest of the parents for their negligence.”

Cases of missing children are common in Kano in the last four years, with no fewer than 46 cases confirmed by security agents.

The recent rescue of nine children, who were abducted in Kano since 2015, in Onitsha, Anambra State, by the police was in case in point.

According to the police, the children aged between three and eight have had their names and religion changed.

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