The security operatives have made an arrest on a landlord and his gateman over allegations of killing a 4-year-old boy for ritual purposes in Niger State.
Reports on Saturday, May 21, the Niger State Police Command arrested a landlord and his gateman for their alleged involvement in the killing of a 4-year-old boy, Hassan Ibrahim, for ritual purposes in Lapai Local Government Area of the state.
The spokesperson of the command, DSP Abiodun Wasiu, confirmed the development in Minna, said an investigation into the incident has commenced and advised residents against taking matters into their own hands.
As reported by NAN, the suspects were saved from being killed by some angry mobs after the remains of the boy were allegedly discovered four days after he was declared missing.
A resident of the area, who pleaded anonymity, said the landlord identified as Emmanuel, who happens to be a popular trader in building materials, allegedly connived with his gateman to kidnap the child.
According to the resident, the child’s vital organs, including the eyes, ears, private part, and heart were all removed, while his remains were put in a sack for the gateman to dispose of.
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The resident said;
“The gateman entered a motorcycle to a stream where he planned to dispose of the remains, but on dropping the gateman, the motorcyclist noticed blood dripping from the sack. The commercial motorcyclist alerted the bystanders and police”
The police mobilized and moved to the stream, where the gateman was arrested. He reportedly confessed that he was sent by his landlord to dump the body and that they were responsible for the kidnap of the boy.
Outraged by the situation, some youths set fire to the home and cars owned by the landlord who supposedly hired the accused killer.
Abdullahi Musa, another resident of the area, said: “There are evil men in every community. Emmanuel is one of them. We have set his house on fire. We wish he was the one we got; we would have killed him.”
Maryam Kwambo, another resident, described the alleged discovery of the child’s remains as the first of such incident in the community.
Since the creation of Lapai local government area, we’ve never encountered such a radical and wicked situation as today. We will get to the root of this. We will get justice for the child. Just four days ago, we heard information about the missing child and no one could give an account of his whereabouts. This matter should be handled properly. We seek justice.” she added.