The Bauchi State Commissioner for Water Resources, Abdulrazak Zaki, has acknowledged that he is in possession of the child he was accused of abducting.
In a statement to journalists in Bauchi on Saturday, Zaki revealed that his unnamed son, along with police officers assigned to him, was involved in the alleged abduction of the child from her school two weeks prior.
Zaki’s ex-wife had filed a petition with the Inspector General of Police, alleging that her child was taken from a school bus on January 20, 2025. She reported that the bus was intercepted by masked policemen in a vehicle with concealed license plates, resulting in the child being forcibly removed and the vehicle speeding away.
Responding to these serious allegations, Zaki claimed that Governor Senator Bala Mohammed and Bauchi’s Commissioner of Police, Auwal Mohammed, supported his actions, asserting that he was acting under a ruling from a Sharia court that granted him custody of the child.
It has been reported that the State High Court in Bauchi is initiating proceedings to hold the water commissioner and the Commissioner of Police in contempt for violating its order. This order mandated that the custody arrangements remain unchanged until the Sharia court appeal is resolved.
Zaki stated that he has since relocated the 8-year-old child to a boarding school in Gombe State, defying the state high court’s ruling affirming the mother’s custody rights pending the final decision.
The situation has drawn criticism from human rights advocates, including a public interest attorney, who condemned the commissioner for taking such actions. The attorney emphasized that the Terrorism Prevention Act 2010 clearly defines the forceful seizure of individuals as a criminal offense.
Additionally, the attorney stressed the importance of legal jurisdiction, asserting that orders from the state high court supersede those from the Sharia court. “The order of the state high court should take precedence over that of the Sharia court,” he stated.
