In what may be described as the implementation of the Sharia Law, an Islamic Scholar, Mallam Bawa, has allegedly cut off the finger of an 18-year-old, Abubakar Sadiq, on suspicion of stealing a wall clock and toilet roll in Takoradi.
According to the victim, he was captured by some boys under the instruction of Mallam Bawa and taken to the Takoradi Central Mosque, where the incident took place.
Narrating his ordeal, Abubakar Sadiq, popularly known as Bin Laden, said he was returning from his brother’s house on that fateful Tuesday, June 2, 2020, when some boys captured him, saying they had been instructed by the Islamic scholar to arrest him.
Even though he tried to escape, he was overpowered by the boys who were about four in number.
He was taken to the mosque where he met the mallam and some other people.
According to him, the mallam told him that he was suspected to have stolen some items including a wall clock, toilet roll and a pipe head belonging to one of the Islamic schools.
He was tied with a rope and his finger placed on the board and a knife and a pair of scissors used to cut off the little finger on the right hand even as he pleaded innocent.
The finger was then placed in hot oil perhaps to stop the blood flow.
“His boys tied my legs and placed my finger on a board and he then used a knife and a pair of scissor to cut my finger, before putting it in a hot oil,” he stated.
The victim quickly reported the matter to his elder brother who together with other family members in turn reported the matter to their Zongo chief.
The chief then summoned a meeting with the said mallam, who according to the brother admitted doing the act as a form of punishment to deter the boy from stealing.
Speaking to the news team, the elder brother of the victim, Shaibu Awudu, said he questioned why the mallam took the law into his hands and if they are again trying to introduce the Sharia Law in Takoradi.
“When I saw the mallam I asked why he refused to take my brother to the Police station but decided to cut his finger and again if Sharia Law has now been introduced in Takoradi.”
The case was then reported to the Takoradi Central Police Station where they were issued a medical form to be sent to a hospital.
The medical report sighted by 3news.com states that the victim reported to the facility bleeding profusely and was given some antibiotics, analgesics and an anti-Tetanus serum.
Meanwhile, the Takoradi Central Police Command has invited the Mallam for questioning.
By Benjamin William Peters|Connect FM|3news.com|Ghana