Four-year-old boy attacked by ritualists cries out in pain!

Buda, an area of the ancient city of Zaria in Kaduna State. It was 4.45pm and as the sun withdrew gradually, a handful of partially clothed kids came out of their houses to play.

Chatting excitedly in the Hausa language, they played together while some of them spilt into smaller activity groups.

But a particular little boy stood out of the pack. Dressed in a not-too-clean pair of mint green knickers, the white t-shirt on him would not be described as neat either.

Though the four-year-old played with other children, his grandmother followed in order to prevent him from falling over anything or anyone.

Fondly referred to as Sadiq Usman, he cannot play with other children unaided.

He is blind.

Still chatting excitedly with his little friends, Sadiq was thrown into the world of darkness on January 25, 2016 when two unknown men gouged out his eyes just a stone throw from his family house in Buda.

The incident shook the village to its foundations but also changed everything about the family of Mallam Usman Isa also known as Auta.

According to Khadija Usman, Sadiq’s elder sister, Sadiq’s ordeal started with his craving to eat sweets before going for his Koranic classes.

Before she could proceed, Sadiq volunteered to narrate his story the best way he could:  “One day, grandma gave me N10 to go and buy sweets. I went, I saw two men on a motorbike. They were following me and one of them asked me whether there was a road in front and I said no. Later, they promised taking me to where they would get better sweets for me.

“Then, they grabbed me and took me away to where I was given injections several times and they removed my eyes,” Sadiq said in fluent Hausa language.

Khadija took over the narration:

She said, “For over 30 minutes grandma didn’t see Sadiq but we were relaxed, thinking that he was out there playing with his friends as usual. But after a while, some of our neighbours came to inform us that they saw Sadiq in a pool of his blood at a dump-site behind the village’s baby-friendly hospital and that his eyes were removed. We all ran there, saw him crying and discovered it was true. Then, we saw that his two eyes were gone.”

Shocked, sad and with every sense of one that has lost a treasure, Sadiq’s grandmother  told  PUNCH that she cried uncontrollably at the incident. Taking solace in God, she said, “I know it was Allah’s wish that such a thing should happen.”

Describing Sadiq as very dear to her heart, the grandmother still wondered what made the men gouge out her grandson’s eyes.

“When the unfortunate incident happened, I cried bitterly and could not eat for many days. I know that God will not let the perpetrators of this dastardly act go unpunished,” she said.

Though not a journey of ease for the Usmans, the family members showered encomiums on personalities which included Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State; Senator Shehu Sani as well as the highly revered Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris.

“When the incident occurred, the Emir sponsored Sadiq’s trip to the National Eye Centre in Kaduna. From there, we were referred to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, where they operated upon the eyes,” a family member said.

Meanwhile, arrangements are in place to fly Sadiq to India.  Sadiq’s elder sister told our correspondent that the gesture was in fulfillment of the Emir’s promise on sponsoring the treatment.

She added that though at ABUTH, doctors had proposed to construct artificial eyes to fill the spaces left; the overseas treatment had put on hold the surgery in Nigeria.

“His royal highness, Dr. Shehu Idris is making arrangement to take the boy overseas for further treatment,” she said.

The Protocol Officer to the Emir of Zuazzau, Alhaji Abubakar Ladan, noted that the Emirate Council was highly disturbed by Sadiq’s ordeal, describing it as sad and most unfortunate.

He said, “We pray that those behind the dastardly are apprehended and punished.”

Reacting to  the incident, Zauzzau Unity Association, vowed  to take legal action against individuals or group that are found to be involved in ritual activities in the ancient city . In a statement, the association condemned the activities of ritual killers in Zaria, which is known for its peace and tranquility.

“In recent time, we have witnessed killings where human parts are removed but we are prepared to tackle such act with all seriousness if it ever occurs again, “ the statement said.

The Special Assistant to Governor el-Rufai on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, el-Rufai, said in addition to the money given to the boy’s parents, the governor has promised that the state government would pay Sadiq’s school fees from the nursery school up to the university level.

In the same vein, Senator Sani has promised to assist in footing the bill of any treatment incurred abroad by Sadiq.

The four-year-old is said to be coping well with his condition. Though blind, family members said Sadiq now recognises them and his friends through their voices.

This was unlike when the incident occurred. “Initially, Sadiq would always ask his mother to open his eyes for him so as to see her (his mother). It was a pitiful sight and we would cry but now, he knows what has happened to his eyes and now recognises us with our voices,” said the grandmother.

Accepting what befell her grandson as the will of Allah, she noted, “We are praying to Allah to open Sadiq’s heart to be able to do wonderful things like some of the world’s outstanding blind persons. Sadiq is a wonderful boy and we are ready to do our very best for him. We have accepted what Allah has destined and we don’t have problems coping with his current predicament.”

Can Sadiq see again? The Chief Medical Director, Ahmadu   Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, Zaria, Prof. Lawal Khalid, responded in the negative.

“No, but the removed eyes would be replaced with artificial eyes. Already, the operation had been successfully carried out by experts at the ophthalmology department of the hospital and the artificial eyes cost less and they are accessible any time the need arises,” Khalid said.

PUNCH gathered that the police had arrested two persons in connection with the incident but the Auta family denied having any information from the police. It was learnt that the vigilance of the people in the area led to the arrest of the two suspects. They (suspects) were said to have been arrested on the premises of a primary school in Buda. They have been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Nigeria Police in Kaduna.

When our correspondent contacted the Police Public Relations Officer, Zubairu Abdullahi, for confirmation, he promised to contact the Area Commander and revert but as at the time of filing this report, Abdullahi didn’t pick repeated calls to his telephone.

But Sadiq has a prayer for those that removed his eyes.

“Those who plucked my eyes, will have theirs plucked by God,” he said in Hausa. “Amin,” echoed his family members present.