The late Hadiza, one of the 18 children of a popular family of the late Alhaji Ibrahim Mazangari, in Ungwan Sanusi, was said to have contracted HIV through her husband who died after their divorce three years ago.
Narrating the incident to Saturday Sun, the deceased’s elder brother, Alhaji Mohammad Ibrahim Mazangari, said he was alerted by some members of the family to quickly come to the scene and identify a body suspected to be his late sister’s.
He said: “I was called to come and identify my sister’s body, found in an uncompleted building that has virgin lands on both sides in Rigasa area.
“We found the body burnt beyond recognition, with remnant of the fuel in a small container, a box of matches, her shoes, her GSM phone and her handbag with all the contents in it.
“The only part of her entire body that was not burnt were her feet and we suspected that she must have been strangled before taken to the uncompleted building and then burnt.
“What happened was that an eyewitness said he saw the owner of the house the previous night around 8pm with his carpenter when they brought some building materials. The carpenter, who came in the morning of the incident found the body in the morning and quickly alerted the police.
“When the police arrived the scene, they used the deceased’s GSM to call her elder sister, Zainab who quickly contacted other members of the family. The last time I saw my sister was before the last Sallah celebration.
“My sister had no known enemy because she has been leaving a peaceful and easy life with everybody. So, we cannot point at anybody as a prime suspect.
“My sister has been leaving with HIV for over five years since she was infected by her husband, who died three years ago, leaving behind a 12 and 14-year-old daughters and another wife who is also infected by the virus.
“One of my sister’s friends gave evidence to the police that she last saw my sister with her boyfriend, simply known as Lawal, who we later realised as a staffer of the Kaduna State Board of Internal Revenue.
“However, the police have invited the boyfriend and one other woman believed to be the wife of her late husband for questioning.
“What kind of human beings will mete out such torture and killing to an innocent woman, who was struggling between taking care of her two children left behind by her late husband and the stigma of HIV virus.”
Lamenting on the incident, Hon. Hadiza Ibrahim Arab, a House of Assembly aspirant from the same constituency with the deceased, blamed the Kaduna State government for the spate of insecurity within the community.
Hadiza, who was spotted at the deceased’s family house, during a condolence visit, lamented that despite the huge expenditure of the state government on security, there is a serious threat to life and property on a daily basis.
“Apart from the lack of presence of security agents, there is also unemployment, which has made the youths vulnerable in the hands of those that can give them a token to carry out some dirty jobs for them.
“Recently, we witnessed the killing of a teenager who was hanged by some assailants and his feet nailed to a tree around the same area. This is apart from other daily crimes, such as armed robbery, street fight and cases of burglary that have continued to threaten the security of the area.
“Don’t forget the frequent rape cases, especially the recent one involving two primary school pupils, one of whom has contracted HIV.
“I learnt that the suspect has been released on bail by the court and is threatening to kill the teacher that exposed him. For God’s sake, what kind of a system are we running where ordinary citizens lives are not protected?
“The legislators have failed to provide any meaningful legislation to combat unemployment and insecurity in the state.
“The former special assistant to then Governor Namadi Sambo on women affairs said women should wrest power from them and ensure that children are protected with adequate legislation.
“When the society continues with the attitude of killing the women, I don’t know what the future will be. Women should rise to the challenge by speaking with one voice, so that the environment would be made secure for us, because if there is no woman, there would be no children and if no children, no nation.
“The society should begin to see women as development partners and not objects of killing and maiming as in the case of the late Hadiza Ibrahim Mazangari,” Hon Hadiza Arab cautioned.
The representative of Amnesty International and president of African Youth Conflict resolution, Dr. Suleman Shuaibu Kamarawa, in an interview with newsmen, expressed dismay over the spate of killings, rape, kidnap and armed robbery in the state.
He, however, promised to support the police to ensure that the culprits were fished out and brought to justice.
Suleman also called on the Kaduna State government and the police to beef up security in the state, especially during the 2011 general elections.
Responding, the acting spokesman of the police in Kaduna, Hakeem Lawal, in a text message, gave assurance that the police would unravel and bring the culprits to book.
He said: “ We have a suspect and he is helping in our investigation. Right now, some people are being interrogated.
“We are appealing to the people for relevant information that can help the police.”
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