The Katsina House of Assembly says it received three petitions from the public through its standing committee on public petitions, from January to date, one of which was a case of rape of a 15-year-old girl by operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service.

‘Queen Dijah women and Children Awareness Initiative’, the NGO that petitioned the state assembly on behalf of the victim, said the Customs officials also impregnated the girl, a resident of Jibia local government area of the state.

The committee chairman, Abduljalal Haruna-Rinka, who doubles as chief whip of the state assembly, said the committee was investigating the matter.

However, there was difficulty in getting to the root because it involved officials of the federal government.

“What delayed the petition was the strike embarked upon by the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), but they are back now, and the investigation continues.

“We even met for two weeks with the association and the girl, and we are going to follow up on the issue until the end.

Our duty is to look at the petition and see where she has rights on the issue and where we have no right, we will make sure that justice is done,” Mr Haruna-Rinka said.

According to the chairman, the committee was also waiting for a briefing from the NGO on the position of the police on the issue and also a DNA test.