A 12-year-old girl, Misturah Babatunde, was allegedly beaten with an electrical wire and burnt with a hot coal-pot by her father and stepmother for losing N100 while hawking soya beans in Ilorin, Kwara State.
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The girl’s ordeal came to light on September 30 when a concerned resident reportedly spotted her buying GV solution from a chemist in the Idigba area of Adewole, Ilorin, at about 9.26pm.
The resident reportedly questioned Misturah about why she was outside at that hour, leading her to disclose the alleged abuse she had suffered after losing the money while hawking for her stepmother.
The Kwara State Police Command subsequently arrested the girl’s biological father, Babatunde Mustapha; her stepmother, Abdulrahman Aisat; and their neighbour, Bashirat Abdulfatai, in connection with the alleged torture.
The police said the three suspects had been arraigned and remanded at the Oke-Kura Correctional Facility.
The case was among several arrests disclosed by the Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, in an interview with Arewa PUNCH. The arrests also involved investigations into alleged murder, kidnapping, suspected ritual-related offences and motorcycle theft across the state.
In another case, police arrested Abu Jimoh and Ayo Jimoh on October 8 while they were allegedly digging graves at a cemetery in Omupo. The arrests followed an investigation into the discovery in May that some graves had been disturbed and the heads of buried bodies were missing.
The suspects reportedly identified a herbalist, Mukaila Bello, as the alleged buyer of the missing human heads. Police said investigations were continuing and that the suspects would be arraigned after the process was concluded.
The command also arrested Kamalden Lukmon and AbdulGaniyu Ibrahim along Bakase Road in Alapa, where two suspected human hands were recovered. Police alleged that the suspects intended to use the body parts for money-making rituals and said they claimed a vigilante member, Abdulraf Apata, had given them the remains. The allegation against Apata is being investigated.
In a separate murder investigation, a 25-year-old man, Salihu Seidu, was arrested over the killing of his 65-year-old father-in-law, Alhaji Lawal Umar, at a Fulani camp in Agah Village, Moro Local Government Area. Umar was found dead inside his tent on October 6 with multiple machete wounds.
According to the police, Seidu allegedly confessed during interrogation that he killed Umar because he believed he was responsible for the death of his son about two weeks earlier. A machete was recovered as an exhibit, while investigations continued.
The police also announced the arrest of several suspects in connection with alleged kidnapping incidents, ransom demands and attacks on vigilante members in different parts of the state.
Among them was Abubakar Usman, popularly known as Jaye, who was arrested at Jebba Cattle Market on October 11 over alleged involvement in kidnapping incidents in Oke-Ode and Oro-Ago, as well as the killing of members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria in Ifelodun Local Government Area. He was also accused of threatening to abduct a prominent cattle-rearing association member and demanding N10m ransom.
Another suspect, 25-year-old Saba Ismail, was arrested over an alleged telephone threat to kidnap a resident of Batakan, via Tsaragi, in Edu Local Government Area, unless N10m was paid. The victim reportedly received the threat on September 8 and subsequently reported the matter to the police.
In another operation, Ahamdu Dahiru, a suspected kidnapper allegedly linked to a wanted gang leader known as Aro, was arrested on October 10 in Kannbi, Moro Local Government Area. Police said Dahiru allegedly confessed to leading four kidnapping operations in Eruku, Oke-Ode, Idofin and Babanla.
He reportedly led security operatives to a forest between Bani and Kaiama, where four AK-47 rifles were said to have been buried, but the weapons were no longer there. Police said a bag containing suspected hard drugs, chains and a padlock believed to have been used to restrain hostages was found at the location.
The command also disclosed the arrest of Umaru Ahmadu at Bode Saadu on October 12 over alleged involvement in the abduction of two people from a Fulani settlement in Okeya. Police said he allegedly admitted belonging to a kidnapping gang and identified other suspected members.
In a separate operation, three men identified as Mohamed Umar, 20; Aliyu Aliyu; and Babuga Umar, 30, were arrested over alleged motorcycle theft around the Kosa–Bani axis. A red Bajaj motorcycle was recovered, while efforts were ongoing to arrest an alleged accomplice identified as Hanaruwa.
The police further said Musa Hussein, 30, was arrested during a routine patrol along the Afon axis over alleged links to kidnapping and other criminal activities in the Orile Igbon area of Oyo State.
The command said investigations into the cases were ongoing and that suspects would be arraigned upon their conclusion where allegations were established.
