Fifteen children aged two to ten, found locked in a Koranic school in central Nigeria and showing signs of torture, have been released, local police said on Tuesday (July 21). Held " in inhumane conditions ", they were found on Sunday in an unlicensed Koranic school in the town of Suleja, in Niger state, regional police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said.
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" Three chains used to tie their legs were also recovered, " he said. According to Mr. Abiodun, the children showed visible signs of torture, such as scars and wounds. The religious leader who ran the establishment was arrested during the police operation, he added. " An investigation has been opened and the suspect will soon be brought to justice and prosecuted, " he said.
Some children found in chains
Informal Islamic religious schools, called “ almajiri ”, are numerous in Nigeria. Classes are free there, but children have to support themselves, usually by begging or doing odd jobs.
These schools, which also act as " correctional houses " for young drug addicts, caused a scandal in 2019, when several police raids in towns in the north of the country, exposed the inhuman conditions in which many people lived. 'children and young men. Some were found in chains, hundreds living crammed into dirty rooms where torture and rape were rampant.
After schools were closed due to coronavirus, the governors of 19 northern states took the opportunity to announce in May that these Koranic establishments would not reopen their doors.