Attack on governor’s aide lands 24 cripples behind bars

The office, being the conduit through which government addresses the special needs of the physically-challenged, became a rallying point of sorts for the various associations of the deaf, cripples and the blind in the state. In every sense, the department is a sensitive one, especially when the population of people living with disabilities in the […]

The office, being the conduit through which government addresses the special needs of the physically-challenged, became a rallying point of sorts for the various associations of the deaf, cripples and the blind in the state. In every sense, the department is a sensitive one, especially when the population of people living with disabilities in the state is taken into consideration. 

Similarly, individuals and philanthropists with special interests in assisting this category of people, often liaise with the department, which in turn furnishes them with relevant information. It is as a result of this that the office of the special adviser is almost always crowded with the crippled, the blind and the deaf.

But late last month, the cordial and flourishing relationship between the office and the disabled suffered a serious setback following an alleged attack on the governor’s aide by two dozens of cripples which allegedly left him on a hospital bed.

The accused persons, who had already been rounded up and arraigned by the police, were said to have traced Ado Sharfadi, the Special Adviser, to this office on August 25, 2010 and pounced on him with dangerous weapons.

Although no reasons were adduced for the attack in the police First Information Report (FIR) that was read before the Upper Shari’ah Court, the accused persons were charged for alleged use of knives, sticks, stones and iron rods to carry out the attack.

According to the FIR that was read by a police prosecutor, the disabled vandalized the official vehicle of the governor’s aide, burst its tyres as well as vandalised his office, adding that they beat him up when he came out to explain things to them. 

While the accused persons were being arraigned five days after, their alleged victim was still at the Mohammed Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital, Kano receiving treatment for the injuries he sustained in the attack, the police prosecutor told the court.

The FIR equally stated that it was the Emir of the cripples in Kano, Alhaji Salisu Ishaq (Sarkin Guragu), who filed a report of the incident on the day it occurred to the police at Farm Centre Division on behalf of the governor’s aide.

The accused persons were charged with joint act, criminal conspiracy and mischief, acts contrary to Kano State Shari’ah Penal Code. Some of the cripples who appeared in the court included Tasi’u Musa, Ya’u Muttaka Suleman, Ado Usman, Adamu Maharazu and Yahaya Ado.

As the case was being heard, the courtroom was full with the accused persons and their relations as well as the complainant, and Alhaji Ishaq Sarkin Guragu, while dozens of spectators milled around the court’s windows to witness the trial.

Meanwhile, most of the handicapped persons came into the court on rollers, while a few others walked inside with the aid of crutches. Sarkin Guragu, was wheeled into the court.

After listening to the charges, the cripples responded through Tasi’u Musa, whom they refer to as “chairman”. He told the court that their action was triggered by an attack on one of them by the aide, maintaining that the said adviser had aggressively assaulted their member throwing him from his wheel chair in the process.

He said that the alleged violent act prompted them to retaliate. “We just couldn’t stand by and watch him attack one of us. So, we descended on the man until people came and rescued him,” Musa said.

However, Upper Shari’ah Court judge entertaining the matter, Mallam Habibuddeen Yahaya Ado, queried the accused persons for taking the law into their own hands instead of reporting the alleged offence to the police. He said if truly they were first attacked by the Special Adviser as they claimed, they should have sought redress through the appropriate authorities, which he said would have been a different matter altogether.

“If you had done that, probably the complainant (the aide) would have been the one standing trial now,” the judge said, adding that regret is what people always reap when they act in anger.

After being informed, upon inquiry, that the aide was still receiving treatment at the hospital, the judge turned down the plea for forgiveness by the accused persons, stressing that it may hamper the course of justice should they be allowed bail as the condition of the victim is still uncertain.

The matter was adjourned to October 11, crippling any chances of freedom for the irate disabled people. Mallam Ado then ordered that they be remanded in prison, saying, “We cannot do anything until we know the condition of the patient, hence you should be remanded in prison pending when the court is furnished with information over the state of the victim.