Ifesinachi abduction saga: Mother’s life under threat as Enugu Govt. offers her scholarship, rehabilitation

Following the sneaking into Enugu State of the abducted 14 year-old Ifesinachi Ani, an SS-2 student of Government Secondary School, Apo Resettlement, Abuja, who was abducted and converted to Islam six months ago, the Enugu State Government yesterday announced automatic scholarship for her in addition to taking care of her rehabilitation and medical needs.
This is even as the mother of the teenager, Mrs. Rachael Ani claimed that the alleged abductors of her daughter, have been threatening to kill her and make life miserable for her remaining children.
Recall that The AUTHORITY Newspapers had on Wednesday reported that Ifesihacni’s abductors, took the girl from their abduction school, somewhere in the North East and sneaked her into Enugu and precisely to the Central Police Station, Uwani, Enugu, instead of Abuja, where they abducted her.
The AUTHORITY had exclusively ran several stories on Ifesinachi’s abduction and exposed minute dirty details of the abductors’ operations, telephone numbers and even interviewed their spokeswoman, who queried why we were looking for her.
The linkman to the abductors, one Baba Abdul, had allegedly confessed that he “sold” the girl to scouts of a controversial Emir in the North West, who moved her from Zaria to Islamic conversion institute. But following strident reports by The AUTHORITY, the abductors scurried her to Enugu, ostensibly to procure support to intimidate the illiterate step-father and other family members and did not bother a hoot about the mother who has been bearing the cost of the upbringing of the little girl and her three other children alone in Abuja.
But, with relentless revelations of the sordid details of the activities of her abductors made by The AUTHORITY group of newspapers, the Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi yesterday brought succor to the girl and her family by announcing automatic scholarship, total rehabilitation and full medicare for the thoroughly harassed and hypnotised child.
The governor’s decision was conveyed to the family in Amaechi Awkunanaw, Enugu South Local Government Area yesterday when a delegation led by the Commissioner for Gender Affairs, Mrs. Peace Nnaji and the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sam Ngwu, travelled to the community to sympathise with the family over the ugly ordeal their daughter had passed through in the hands of her abductors.
Hon. Nnaji explained that Governor Ugwuanyi has directed that immediate arrangements be made for the proper rehabilitation of the teenager “psychologically, educationally, socially and otherwise”, as soon as Ifesinachi, who has been moved to Abuja by the Police for further investigations, is returned to Enugu.
According to Mrs. Nnaji, “Governor Ugwuanyi takes keen interest and concern in the welfare of every Enugu citizen, whether living in the state or outside the state”, assuring that people facing similar problems should not fail to make known their ordeal to the state government.
She assured that “the best of medicare geared towards proper rehabilitation will be offered to Miss Ifesianchi Ani freely by the state government, based on the fact that the present administration in Enugu state, under Governor Ugwuanyi, has passed the Child Rights Act Bill into law and he is personally a good family man who takes special interest in the welfare of anybody around him.
“Therefore, since Ifesinachi Ani is still a teenager, she is protected by the provisions of the Child Rights Law, now existing in the state”.
She commended The AUTHORITY Newspapers for bringing to public domain and for following up on every aspect of the plight of the teenager and her family, and urged the staff and management of the news medium not to relent in pursuing issues of public good.
She equally commended the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase, for his tireless efforts in ensuring the rescue of the girl and urged the IGP to ensure that all those behind the ungodly act are prosecuted.
Also speaking, the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Samuel Ngwu, while corroborating the statements made by Nnaji, the Commissioner for Gender Affairs, lamented the psychological trauma she must have passed through in the hands of her abductors, adding that “the state government is highly committed to rehabilitating her”.
Dr Ngwu stated: “Governor Ugwuanyi is a compassionate man who always tries to identify with the problems of the citizens. He has promised to take care of the psychological resuscitation of the girl; to rehabilitate her and return her to a productive institution and to further take care of her academic carrier.
Mr. John Ani, brother to Mr. Sunday Ani, the step father to Ifesinachi, who spoke on behalf of the family, expressed gratitude to the Enugu State Governor, for sending a delegation of the state government to empathise with the family on the travails of their daughter and sister, Ifesinachi.
He noted that the act of love exhibited by the government, “has once again, proved Governor Ugwuanyi’s humanitarian nature and humility in identifying with the masses, especially the down trodden in their pains and at the times of their need”.
Meanwhile, Ifesinachi’s mother, Rachael informed that her life is under threat as the wife of Baba Abdul has been telling her that “we shall deal with you when my husband comes out from detention”.
The woman, who broke down in tears while narrating her ordeal since her child’s abduction, explained that since the arrest of Baba Abdul, she no longer sleeps at her residence for fear of being killed.
She explained to our reporters that she had noticed several people coming and going out of Baba Abdul’s residence and that they would always cast sinister eyes towards her residence and point fingers at the building, asking the Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr. Wilson Inalegu, to please direct his men to provide security for the family.
She added that she has since stopped hawking “okpa” local Igbo delicacy, her only source of livelihood because she could not cope with the stress of looking for her missing daughter, stressing that she has been surviving on charity and goodwill of Nigerians.
Meanwhile, The AUTHORITY on Saturday checks have revealed that Ifesinachi and her alleged abductors have been moved from Enugu to Abuja where investigations have continued.
The CP of FCT, Inalegu confirmed the development, explaining that the officers who were mandated to investigate the report were working on every lid and would make their findings known to him shortly