A STUDENT arrested for almost hacking his junior colleague to death with a razor blade, Ahmad Umar Goni, has said his dislike for the boarding school pushed him into carrying out the act.
He said this while being paraded before journalists by officials of the Police Command in Borno state.
Goni, a sixteen-year-old student of El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology, Maiduguri, said his parents had refused to withdraw him from the school upon his request and cited this as the reason behind his actions.
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“I don’t like the hostel. I told my parents, but they didn’t take me out of boarding school. I have made the mistake. I hope Allah lets the boy survive,” he said.
He also told the police that there had been no altercation between himself and the victim before the attack.
Goni had lured a junior student, Jibril Sadi Mato, 11, to the back of the school premises, where he slit his throat with a razor blade acquired from a shop in the school.
The eleven-year-old had passed out shortly after the attack and was found unconscious in a pool of his blood.
Though Goni said there had been no altercation between them, The ICIR reported that the attack resulted from the victim’s refusal to run errands for him.
Mato, admitted at the Intensive Care Unit of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) in Borno state, had some arteries and trachea severely damaged during the attack.
According to the report, a family member, who wished to stay anonymous, said the victim had regained consciousness at the hospital but remains anxious about returning to the school for fear of being killed.
He had also recorded the family’s displeasure over what he described as propaganda by the school authorities and the hospital to cover up the attack.
“What is also unfortunate to note is that the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital also joined the El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology in documenting false propaganda over the incident.
“In Jibril’s file, they wrote that the child fell and got injured instead of saying he was attacked by another person,” he said.
The ICIR could not reach the institution on the issue as the school’s phone line was switched off at press time.
According to a report, a director at the college, Mohammed Sani Idris, had declined to speak on the incident. He rather tried to dissuade journalists from reporting the attack.
“What good is this story giving you? The school and your medium have the same objectives (rendering services to the public).
“I will love it if you forget about this story while we move forward, but if you think it is mandatory to report this issue, then go ahead and do it,” he said.
However, a statement was released by the School’s Principal, Kashim Ibrahim Abdullahi, dated 22nd January 2022.
Abdullahi confirmed the attack by Goni and described previous reports against the college as fake news.
“One student, Ahmad Umar Goni of SSS 2A, for an unknown reason partially cut the throat of one student Jibril Sadi Mato of Pre-JSS.
“Unfortunately, some media houses, individuals as well as other critics of the College, without any proof or verifiable evidence went on spreading false information when the College itself is still waiting for the Police to conclude their investigation.
“Therefore the management of the College denounces all these conspiracies and fake news about the incident,” he said.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.