Nikyob Development Association Says Goska Attack On Teenager Was Kidnapping Attempt, Not Forced Marriage
The Nikyob Development Association (NIDA) has refuted earlier media reports describing last Friday’s attack on a teenager in the Goska community of Jema’a Local Government Area, Kaduna State, as a forced marriage incident.
Speaking with Salama News, NIDA’s National President, Comrade Manasseh Mamman Tukson, clarified that the incident was a kidnapping attempt, not a marriage-related assault as previously reported.
Some media outlets, including Sahara Reporters, had earlier alleged that the 16-year-old victim, Endurance Haske Sabo, was attacked after her family declined a marriage proposal from suspected armed men.
According to those reports, the assailants confronted the girl’s mother on the family farm in Kaninkon Ward, allegedly demanding that the teenager be released for marriage. The attackers were said to have later ambushed the family, dragged the girl into the bush, and severed her hand.
However, Comrade Tukson dismissed this account, stating that the attackers abandoned the victim after assuming she was dead. He emphasized that their primary intention was to abduct her, not to enforce a marriage.
He commended the swift response and professionalism of local youths and security agencies, particularly the Nigerian Army, for their intervention and the subsequent arrest of suspects linked to the incident.
Tukson also praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Senator Uba Sani, and the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, for what he described as ongoing efforts to curb insecurity in the state. He urged security agencies to intensify investigations to ensure all those responsible are apprehended and prosecuted.
He further appealed to residents to remain calm and avoid taking the law into their own hands, while cautioning journalists to verify facts thoroughly to prevent the spread of misleading narratives.
In a separate interview, two family members who were present during the incident, the victim’s grandmother, Mrs. Hannatu Yusuf, and her elder sister, Faith Japhet also rejected claims that the attack was linked to forced marriage.
They explained that references to marriage by the assailants were merely a diversion to conceal their actual motive, which they maintained was kidnapping.
More photos below.
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