A Biochemistry student at the University of Maiduguri, Saleem Ibrahim, allegedly assaulted a 21-year-old woman, Hauwa Abatcha Ngala, after she rejected his romantic advances.
According to reports, Saleem had persistently asked Hauwa, a student of the College of Nursing Sciences in Maiduguri, to be his girlfriend, but she declined his offers.
Frustrated by her refusal, Saleem attacked her with a club until she lost consciousness.
Security analyst and counter-intelligence expert, Zagazola Makama, revealed these details in a post on Friday, March 22, 2024. Makama stated that although the culprit was initially arrested by the police, he was later released on the order of the Borno State Secretary to the Government, Hon. Bukar Tijjani.
“It was alleged that Saleem had been pressuring Hauwa to love him. Despite her clear disinterest, Hauwa tried to make it clear that she didn’t have any romantic feelings for him,” explained Makama.
Hauwa reportedly made efforts to distance herself from Saleem’s persistent advances and ultimately ended their association in a respectful manner.
The more she attempted to disentangle herself from his escalating manipulative tactics aimed at persuading her to reciprocate his affections, the more perilous and menacing his behavior became towards her.
Hauwa steadfastly maintained her lack of romantic feelings for Saleem, asserting that she could not summon even the slightest shred of love for him in her genuine and sincere heart.
Her emotional stance against him starkly contrasted and fiercely clashed with his purported persistent threats of causing her severe harm, even going as far as threatening her life if she didn’t reciprocate his feelings.
He allegedly delivered a blunt ultimatum, stating that she must either love him or face dire consequences, asserting, “I can even kill you, and nothing will happen,” as a chilling warning.
This situation reportedly plunged Hauwa into deep emotional distress. She endured the mounting burden of this anguish until Monday, February 26, 2024.
On that tragic Monday, around 8:30 p.m., Saleem Ibrahim purportedly subjected Hauwa Abatcha Ngala to violent physical assault, striking her forcefully twice with a club until she lost consciousness, all because she rejected his advances. The blows from the club caused her head to bleed profusely.
Instead of taking any action to help save her life, supposedly driven by the love he pretended to feel for her, he reportedly fled the scene, leaving her at the mercy of her relatives, who ultimately rescued her.
Upon discovering that she was alive, her relatives promptly notified the police on the same night. Law enforcement then rushed her to the hospital, where she received urgent medical attention.
As a result, that very night, the Joint Task Force civilian volunteers apprehended Saleem Ibrahim and handed him over to the police stationed at the Gomari Division Office.
However, on Friday, March 1, 2024, three days after the incident and his subsequent arrest, Saleem was purportedly released by the police following the intervention of certain politicians, without facing any consequences under the law.
Immediately after his release, Saleem took to his Facebook messenger to send Hauwa a private message, taunting her, stating, “I’m not someone who makes empty threats. Whatever I decide to do, I will follow through, and there will be no repercussions.
I swear by Allah, only the disadvantaged can be mistreated without consequences, not someone from a powerful background like myself.
Only the less fortunate, lacking worldly possessions, can be easily dealt with. If you manage to prevail against others, I swear by Almighty God you will never succeed against me because I have the Money, the Security Agencies, Politicians, and Government Officials on my side.
, on the other hand, can only rely on your brother. I challenge you to pursue the case further and let’s see whose influence reigns supreme,” Saleem declared.
Frustrated by the perceived inaction of the police, the relatives reportedly lodged another complaint at the Borno State Police Command Headquarters in Maiduguri on Saturday, March 2, 2024. They were particularly incensed by Saleem’s alleged threats to kill Hauwa, asserting that he would face no consequences due to his influential background.
Saleem was subsequently re-arrested and held in police custody for a week. However, he was allegedly released again after the family was informed by the police that the Borno State Secretary to the Government, Hon. Bukar Tijjani, had ordered his release and the dismissal of the case without any repercussions for his actions against the victim.
To their dismay, Hauwa’s relatives purportedly encountered Saleem freely roaming the streets of Maiduguri, rather than being detained pending prosecution.
Undeterred and deeply aggrieved, Hauwa’s family reportedly lodged a fresh complaint at the Borno State Police Commissioner’s Office on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, seeking justice in the case.
Subsequently, the police reportedly rearrested Saleem Ibrahim, inviting the victim to provide her statement. Following this, the police compiled a report on the case and forwarded it to the Borno State Ministry of Justice.
However, to date, neither the victim nor her family has been contacted, despite Saleem’s alleged confession to the crime and his threats against Hauwa, as Zagazola concluded.
Jummai Mshelia, the Borno Coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), denounced the senseless attack on the victim and called for the suspect to be prosecuted as a deterrent to other perpetrators.
“Immediately after the incident, the commission formally complained to the Commissioner of Police, who promptly ordered the suspect’s arrest. We commend the police for their swift response,” she said.
“We have been informed that the case has been referred to the Department of Public Prosecution at the Ministry of Justice for their guidance. While we await their response, we assure the public that we will pursue this case until justice is served,” she added.
Mshelia lamented the reluctance of parents and relatives of abuse victims to address the increasing prevalence of such crimes in society, while the victims continued to endure stigmatization and trauma indefinitely.
She urged the public to report such incidents to the National Human Rights Commission or other security agencies to combat these crimes effectively.
