The village head of Dan Gulam in Gwaram LGA of Jigawa State, Umar Ibrahim, has been accused of raping, impregnating and infecting a girl with HIV.
This was contained in a letter dated October 16, 2023, to the Secretary of Dutse Emirate Council by the Senior State Counsel in the Jigawa State Ministry of Justice, Kabiru Abdullah, with the title: “Notification of arraignment of Umar Ibrahim (Village Head of Dan Gulam) on the offence of rape contrary to Section 3 (1) (A and D) of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law 2021”.
The letter reads in part: “I have been directed by the Attorney General of Jigawa State to write and notify Your Highness that a complaint of rape and infection with HIV was lodged at the Office of the Attorney General by one Ya’ u Muhammad in which he alleged that Umar Ibrahim (Village Head of Dan Gulam) engaged his daughter in an illegal sexual intercourse which resulted to her pregnancy and infected her with HIV.
“Upon receiving the complaint, parties were invited, and in the course of discussion with the Attorney General, Umar Ibrahim (the village head) revealed that he had filed a case of defamation against the girl, her father and one Sule Umar of Dan Gulam village before the Upper Shari’a Court in Gwaram.
“The attorney general directed for the case at the Upper Sharia Court, Gwaram, to be taken over and all parties were referred to the CID in Dutse for investigation.
“After the investigation by the CID, the case diary was sent to the Ministry of Justice for legal advice. The legal advice was given and it revealed prima facie case of criminal conspiracy and rape were made against Umar Ibrahim who to the attorney general’s greatest dismay is the Village Head of Dan Gulam in Gwaram LGA.
“In view of the above fact and that he will soon be arraigned before a court.
“It is based on the foregoing fact that the attorney general directed me to write and notify Your Highness of the position of the case for appropriate steps to be taken.”
However, reports indicate that there is pressure on the emirate to sweep the issue under the carpet despite appeals and the state government’s intervention through the office of the attorney general.
Meanwhile, the family of the girl has called on Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to intervene in the matter to save the girl’s life and to ensure justice is served.
However, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, the village head said he was not the person that impregnated the girl.
He explained that the initial case was not rape but a land issue with his district head when he allocated a portion to a former Chairman of Gwaram LGA.
He said, “They are trying to black paint my name. That is why they falsely allege that I impregnated the girl; which is a lie. I don’t know the girl. I have never met the girl.”
When asked whether he was HIV positive, he said “Yes. I have had it for the past 10 years when I married an infected widow. That is why they are bringing that girl that has the virus and is pregnant to lay false allegations; but I swear I didn’t do it.”