A group of lawyers, under the umbrella of the House of Justice (HoJ), have condemned the abduction of a Customary Court Judge, her four children, and the gruesome killing of her 14-year-old son by terrorists in a Kaduna community.
The unfortunate attack, kidnap, and killing incident occurred in the Mahuta Community, located in the Kaduna metropolis, by the bandits.
In a statement on Wednesday (yesterday), the Chief Executive Officer of the House of Justice (HoJ), Gloria Mabeiam Ballason, condemned “the abduction of a Customary Court Judge who is a housewife, (Janet Galadima), and her four children as well as the grisly murder of her 14-year-old son by the terrorists.”
According to Ballason, “the Customary Court Judge (Janet Galadima) was on the night of Sunday, 23 June 2024, abducted along with her four sons at their residence in Mahuta, Kaduna State, North-West Nigeria, while her medical doctor husband was away on duty.”
“The abductors, reported to have been about fifteen, took their captives hostage and demanded a huge sum as ransom. On Tuesday, 2 July 2024, the terrorists shot dead the 14-year-old first son of the Judge when the ransom demanded could not be obtained.”
Ballason, who is also a human rights activist, “condemned the abduction and murder in the strongest possible terms,” stating that “judicial officers under Article 7 of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, deserve protection and adequate security to enable them to carry out their judicial functions and that the Nigerian State has a constitutional mandate under Section 33 and 14 (2)b of the 1999 Constitution to guarantee and ensure the safety of the Judge, her family, and all citizens.”
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She described “the murder of Victor, the 14-year-old son of the Judge, as ‘grisly and blood-curdling,” pointing out that “no parent deserves the horror of watching their child being killed in such a cold, callous manner.”
She called on “the Nigerian security agencies, the Governor of Kaduna state, the Nigerian Bar Association, and the Judiciary to rise to the urgency of the moment for the protection of the lives of His Worship, Janet Galadima, and her children and to ensure justice is served.”
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Meanwhile, the Police Spokesman in the State, ASP Mansir Hassan, could not respond to telephone calls and text messages put across to him by the Guardian for comments on the unfortunate incident.
