A 14-year-old boy has lost his left forearm and right foot due to the effect of battery acid poured on the limbs for allegedly stealing a bicycle.
The act was allegedly committed by a teacher at Nalerigu Senior High School, Ibrahim Salifu, popularly known as ‘Fire-fire’.
The two limbs were subsequently amputated by doctors at the Nalerigu Baptist Medical Centre due to the severity of the damage caused by the acid.
The boy was said to have been moving around with his bicycle searching for scraps when he came across a bunch of empty tomato cans and decided to carry them away.
The incident
Gideon Wunduwa, the victim’s father, told JoyNews‘ Elliasu Tanko that his son did not have a carrier at the back of his bicycle, so he parked his and took another one with a carrier parked in front of a house without the owner’s permission.
“He picked another bicycle from the house to go and sell them (scraps) and come back. So, he left the bicycle there and went and sold the tins, but when he returned, the man met him and said he had stolen a bicycle,” he narrated.
According to Gideon Wunduwa, his son tried explaining the circumstances under which he swapped the bicycles, but the man turned a deaf ear to him.
He said his son was tied to a wooden bench, and beaten with sticks for several hours before the acid was poured on him.
“The man tied him, and called some people. They placed a plank of wood on top of two water drums, tied his legs and hands and hanged him while they were rolling and whipping him.
“So he told them they should exercise patience because he was going through excruciating pain, but they did not listen,” he claimed.
Mr Wunduwa further explained that the incident happened in the afternoon, but it was in the evening that the acid was poured on him.
“It happened at 12 pm, but when it was 7 pm, he instructed them to bring the battery water. They brought it, and poured it on the boy’s legs and hands,” he claimed.
The boy was later, allegedly, dumped in a bush after they had tortured him to unconsciousness.
He was, however, rescued and rushed to the Nalerigu Baptist Medical Centre in the northeast region.
Arrest
The culprit, Ibrahim Salifu, was later arrested by the Police to face justice, but he was released after the Nalerigu Traditional authorities intervened.
A disgruntled Mr Wunduwa told Joy News he’s unhappy with the way the Police are handling the case.
He said the Police investigation into the matter doesn’t look promising, and he is calling on the general public to support him to demand justice for his son.
