By Khadijat Saidu, Birnin Kebbi

A man, Aliyu Umaru, has been charged with cruelty for allegedly tying up his son in a goat shelter for two years in Birnin-Kebbi, the Kebbi State capital.

The 12-year-old victim, who was said to have survived on goat feed during his ordeal, has been rescued by police and a human rights group.

He has been taken to hospital, it was learnt.

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Police spokesman Aliyu Umaru Nafiu Abubakar said Umaru was found culpable and has been charged to court for cruelty.

Abubakar said in a statement that police found out that the victim is a Down Syndrome patient.

Down Syndrome results when a foetus develops an extra chromosome which sometimes conditions how the baby’s brain and physical features develop.