Niger: Angry youths set landlord’s house ablaze after killing four-year-old boy for ritual

The Niger State Police Command has 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.

Spokesperson of the command, DSP Abiodun Wasiu, who confirmed the development on Saturday in Minna, said investigation into the incident has commenced, and advised residents against jungle justice.

The suspects were rescued from being lynched by a mob after the remains of the boy were allegedly discovered four days after he was declared missing.

A resident of the area, who didn’t want to be named, said the landlord identified as Emmanuel, a popular trader in building materials, allegedly connived with his gateman to kidnap the child.

According to the resident, the two suspects allegedly killed the child and removed his vital organs, including the eyes, ears, private part, and heart, while his remains were put in a sack for the gateman to dispose of.

“The gateman entered a motorcycle to a stream where he was 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 resident was quoted as saying.

The police mobilised 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.

Irked by the development, some youths in the town set ablaze the house and cars of the notable trader who allegedly contracted the suspected 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.