A mother of four, Hassana Saleh, who was kept in solitary confinement for two years by her brother at Rigasa in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, was on Tuesday rescued by a non-governmental organisation with the assistance of the state police command.
Hassana was locked up in a single-room apartment, where she urinated and defecated for two years, by her brother, Lawal Saleh.
It was gathered that Hassana’s offence was that she wanted to go back to her ex-husband, who had earlier divorced her, but the brother opposed the move.
The founder of the Kaduna-based NGO, the Arrida Relief Foundation, Rabi Ibrahim, who facilitated her rescue, stated that Lawal claimed to have locked up Hassana because she was adamant about going to her ex-husband’s house.
Ibrahim said the victim would be taken to hospital for proper medical attention and called on well-meaning Nigerians to come to her aid.
She stated, “The family believed that her ex-husband no longer loved her as he had divorced her, which made Hassana to be depressed.
“They, however, took the decision of locking her up in the room, because they felt they had no other option.”
The victim’s brother, who is married to four wives, admitted to locking up Hassana for seven months and not two years as claimed.
Lawal, a father of 41, told journalists at the state police command headquarters that he was away when his sister was thrown out of her husband’s house.
According to him, he had to lock up Hassana in a room because he could no longer cater for her needs.
Lawal said, “I was away and when I came back, I was told that Hassana’s husband had divorced her and that she ran away to an unknown destination. She was found and brought to my house, where I reside with my four wives and 41 children in Rigasa.
“I did my best to get medication for her, but she kept trying to run back to her former husband.
“She was later found and was married to another man, but she opted out of the marriage because she wanted to go back to the father of her children.
“I was helpless and did not know what to do, because Hassana kept running away. So, I decided to keep her in the room, because I could no longer foot the bills for her medication. Even the food to eat became a problem for me and my household.
“She was locked up for seven months and not two years.”
He added that two of his other sisters usually clean the room, where Hassana was kept.
Source: The Punch
