Aid to Gov. Kefas stabs mentally challenged teenager in Jalingo

EMMANUEL  AWARI, Jalingo

Residents of Karofi, a suburb of Jalingo, Taraba State capital, were thrown into shock and confusion on Wednesday when one of the Advisers to Gov. Agbu Kefas allegedly attacked and inflicted severe knife injuries on a 19-year-old mentally challenged teenager named Adamu.

Our correspondent gathered that the incident occurred on Wednesday morning when a security guard of a pure Water factory by the name Tapawa alerted the owner of the factory, Alhaji Bello Kasimu, an Adviser to Gov. Kefas, that he apprehended a thief who gained access to the factory at night and tied him with ropes.

Bello Kasimu, who is also one of the aspirants for the forthcoming Jalingo local government Chairmanship elections, allegedly rushed to the water factory where he met Adamu, whose two hands were tied to his back by the night guard.

It was further gathered that Kasimu allegedly opened the booth of his Car and brought out a sharp knife and began to slice Adamu’s body with the knife and calling him a thief, thereby inflicting severe injuries on his body.

Kasimu’s actions were swiftly reported to the police in Karofi police outpost and a human rights activist, Gambo Dauda, who also resides in the area.

The Human Rights Activist, Gambo Dauda in an interview with our correspondent, said that after a thorough investigation, it was discovered that the victim Audu was a lunatic known to the people of the area.

“We received a call from people of the area around 5pm yesterday about the incident and When we went there, we met the victim (Adamu) with injuries all over his body. We were told that it was Bello Kasim who used a knife to inflict injuries on him.

“According to the security guard by name Tapawa, he caught Adamu in the water factory by 3am . We learnt he did not catch Adamu with anything but he tied the victim and beat him up before calling on his boss (Bello).

On arrival, the boss pulled out a knife and began to stab Adamu,” Dauda narrated.

He added that his interaction with the victim showed he was mentally challenged, as his responses were uncoordinated.

Dauda also said that the police had intervened to save the boy, who is currently receiving treatment at the Police clinic in Jalingo.

“The Police Out Post at Karofi was alerted to the incident and so they rescued the victim and took him to a clinic at Karofi.

“In our fact-finding, we gathered from the vigilantes that Adamu is mentally challenged and has been roaming around the area for the past two months. Our interaction with the victim shows that he is suffering from mental illness, as his statements were not coordinated.

The human rights activist said he demanded that the case be transferred from Karofi police post to Jalingo police Division.

He added that at the Jalingo police Division, the Victim, Adamu, was brought in a pool of his blood and was immediately rushed to the police clinic, where he is currently receiving treatment.

A senior police officer attached to the Jalingo police Division told our reporter that the police invited Kasim and obtained his statement, but he was released on bail a few minutes later.

Efforts by our correspondent to reach the PPRO of the Taraba State police command did not yield positive results as all his phones were off at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, when contacted on the phone, Alhaji Bello Kasimu told our correspondent that he should be given two hours to enable him to respond to the allegations against his person.

Unfortunately, Alhaji Kasimu has refused to pick all phone calls put across to him by our correspondent after the two hours as he continuously rejected the calls.

The attack on Adamu has attracted widespread condemnation from residents of Karofi, where Adamu roams around the streets in both days and night.

“This is an act of man’s inhumanity to man. We know Adamu very well, he is a mad person and he does not steal,” said Junaidu, a resident of Karofi.