Bauchi Police Arrest Man for Alleged Abduction, Sexual Abuse of Two Almajiris

The Bauchi State Police Command has apprehended a 37-year-old man, Abubakar Talba, on charges of abducting and sexually abusing two young Almajiri boys. The victims, identified as 12-year-old Mas’ud Barau and 13-year-old Ibrahim Kabiru, were reportedly taken from Daura, Katsina State.

According to police reports, Talba allegedly lured Barau, who hails from Gamniya village in Niger Republic, to a mosque in Udubo, a community within Gamawa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, where he is accused of sodomizing the boy. The victim met Talba at Rijiyar Zaki in Kano State after migrating to Nigeria to study the memorization of the Holy Qur’an.

The spokesperson for the Bauchi State Police Command, SP Ahmed Wakil, confirmed the arrest in a statement released on Thursday. He noted that residents of Udubo had lodged a complaint against Talba, accusing him of mistreating the boys under the guise of being their Qur’anic teacher. Talba had reportedly moved to Udubo from Daura prior to his arrest.

“During interrogation, the suspect admitted to attending a Quranic school in Fagge and meeting one of his victims in the Bata area of Fagge Local Government in Kano State,” Wakil said.

Talba is said to have enticed Barau from Kano to Daura with promises of helping him start a business, falsely offering financial support to sell flashlights and batteries.

The police confirmed that Talba will be charged in court following the completion of their investigation.