BREAKING: CP, Commissioner Risk Jail Term Over Abduction Allegation Case

State High Court has ordered a serving Commissioner for Water Resources, Abdulrazak Zaki, and the Commissioner of Police, Bauchi State, Mohammed Auwal, to explain why they should not be committed to prison for violating court orders.

The presiding judge, Justice Mukhtar Abubakar, issued the ruling on January 24, 2025, warning the duo against disobeying the court’s directives. The ruling, which was obtained by our correspondent on Friday, stated: “Take notice that unless you obey the direction contained in the order of this honourable court holden at Bauchi, you will be guilty of contempt, and you will be liable to be committed to prison.”

In the case numbered BA/1189/2023, the plaintiff, Iklima Soro, accused the Commissioner of Police of using policemen to harass and intimidate her in defiance of the court order.

Abdulrazak Nuhu is accused of hiring “Sara suka” thugs to invade the house of his ex-wife, Ikilima Manu Soro, two months ago, despite a state high court ruling mandating the parties to maintain the status quo until a final decision was made in the ongoing case before the Sharia court.

The couple, who separated when the wife was seven months pregnant, has been contesting the custodial rights of their daughter. Abdulrazak Nuhu is also accused of intercepting the Madinah school bus on January 20, 2025, and abducting his 8-year-old daughter, Zainab, with the help of masked security agents and a car with covered license plates. The abduction, which took place in the GRA area of Bauchi, left other students on the bus traumatized.

Two weeks after the incident, Zainab has yet to resume school, and her whereabouts remain unknown to her mother. Enraged by the violation of its order, the court accused both defendants of contempt.