The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the Lagos State Government to ensure that one ‘Alex Chukwugo’ faces the full wrath of the law for alleged kidnapping, raping and impregnating an 18-year-old Hausa girl identified as Mariam Dauda.

MURIC made this call in a statement signed by the group’s director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Wednesday, November 6, 2019.

According to the Islamic group, Chukwugo kidnapped Mariam Dauda in January 2019 under the guise of marriage, but she was later found with a baby belonging to him in October. The statement reads:

“An 18-year-old Hausa girl, Maryam Dauda, who had been missing for several months has been found in the home of an Igbo man, Alex Chukwugo. Maryam went missing in January 2019 and all efforts made by the parents to locate her failed. Although the parents heard news of the missing girl in June 2019 (six months later), they were not allowed to see their daughter until October 2019 when they were invited to Alex Chukwugo’s house to see her with a newly born baby.

“This is frivolous, preposterous and unacceptable. Alex Chukwugo has abducted the Hausa girl. There is no other name for it. We insist that it is abduction. Alex as a fellow Nigerian knows the due process when it comes to marriage but he refused to follow that well-known process because of his criminal motive.

“He used deceptive means to get the girl into his house since January 2019. He has kept the girl in his custody against the girl’s will and definitely without the parent’s knowledge. During that period the parents were in severe emotional trauma. Alex Chukwugo has subjected Mr. and Mrs. Dauda to untold hardship, unlimited suffering and unprecedented psychological topsy-turvy.

“The parents went through this pain for six good months while their daughter was raped by Alex Chukwugo on a daily basis until she became pregnant. The suspect did not deem it fit to inform the parents of their daughter’s whereabout until after six months and when he eventually surfaced, he came with two other men only to inform the parents that they had found their daughter.

“Without revealing their true identity, they posed like security men performing their official duty. They exchanged telephone numbers with the parents and told them that they could not be allowed to see their daughter yet. It was only about three weeks ago (four months after the nocturnal visit to the girl’s parents) that they invited them to the house of the abductor of their daughter. The parents were shocked when they discovered that their daughter had just delivered a baby.

“The parents left in anger and a concerned Hausa man who is educated came to MURIC’s office to lodge a report. We had no option than to go to the police and the suspect was arrested on Sunday, 3rd November, 2019. As we go to press, both the suspect and his abducted victim are in Police headquarters, Ikeja.

“One thing is very clear in this case. Alex Chukwugo gave the parents this shabby treatment because they are simple peasants with no Western education. But we are assuring him that he miscalculated. MURIC will stand by every Muslim against his or her oppressor. We will uphold the rule of law no matter whose ox is gored. Gone are the days when Muslims are treated like dregs of their societies. We are prepared to use every legitimate means to ensure that Muslims get redress from their oppressors.

“The parents have complained that policemen in Ikeja, have disallowed them from speaking with their daughter. We frown at this development. The parents should be allowed to communicate with their daughter. No one expects the police to aggravate the parents suffering after their daughter has been found. We therefore call on the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to call his men to order. It is the height of insensitivity for the police to disallow the parents from speaking with their daughter after suffering for so long. What game is the police playing? Nigerians are waiting.

“MURIC is a ‘watchdog’ in this case and we are going to monitor events from now on. Alex Chukwugo must be arraigned in court. We will not rest until the parents of Maryam get justice.

“Something interesting seems to be going on in this country. Muslim children are being kidnapped on a daily basis since the past ten years particularly from the North. The destination has been the Southern part of Nigeria and now Alex Chukwugo has rubbed it in. Our daughters are now being lured into secret enclaves. They are kept in custody against their will. They are repeatedly raped until they submit to their abductors. Alex Chukwugo must be taught the lesson of his lifetime.

“On a last note, MURIC demands justice for Mr. and Mrs. Dauda. We call on the Lagos State Ministry of Justice to invoke the full powers of the law in this case. Alex Chukwudi and others like him must be made to face the full wrath of the law. Nigerians are watching. MURIC is on 24-7 vigil.”