12-year-old boy in Kano found eating his faeces after being chained, starved by mother

Story from Shafa’atu DAUDA, Kano

A 12-year-old boy was found in Kano by one Ibrahim Danladi Satatima eating his own faeces after being confined in a room and starved by his mother, identified as Maryam Dauda.

Mrs Dauda was however arrested by the police who said the boy was in chains and confined in the family’s rented apartment at Unguwar Liman Dorayi in the Gwale Local Government Area of the state without proper feeding and health care.

Satatima, who was interested in buying the house and was assessing its condition, told Daily Trust he met the boy inside the room, where he was chained and eating his own faeces.

“As I entered the house alongside the landlord, I saw a boy chained inside a room eating his faeces,” he said.

He said he sought assistance from the neighbours to rescue the boy but they were not cooperative.

“So I went to see the ward head but I could not see him as he was not around at that moment. We waited for an hour or so but he did not appear. I called him on phone but his line did not go through. So I decided to report the case to Dorayi police station and they promptly responded,” he added.

The spokesperson for Kano State Police Command, DSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa confirmed that the woman is in their custody and will be arraigned as soon as an ongoing investigation is concluded.

He added that the victim was rescued and rushed to Murtala Muhammad Hospital for medical attention.

Dauda, however, blamed her action on poverty, saying that she had no help since she had the boy.

She said her son has suffered from mental illness all his life and he is not the only one, even his two brothers suffered from the same illness before they passed away, she said.