How we poisoned, strangled boy for recognising one of us — Two siblings who killed, kidnapped eight-year-old

Two siblings, Abdulrazak Waliu, aged 23, and Abdulrazak Illias (18) have spilled the beans on how they conspired to kidnap an eight-year-old pupil, Bamimore Kehinde Abdulraheem, for a ransom of N2 million before they decided to kill him by giving him rat poison and strangulating him when he recognised Ilias as his brother’s friend.

The two suspects were arrested in Saki town , where the incident occurred last Friday, by detectives  from Saki Division of Oyo State Police Command, before their transfer to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, on Monday.

Also arrested were the suspects’ father, Abdulrazak Salaudeen and half brother, Abdulhamid.

Briefing journalists on the arrest on Wednesday, the state Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Onadeko, who was represented by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adewale Osifeso, said that the arrest was sequel to a report by the victim’s father, Bamimore Abdulafeez that on March 4, at about 12noon, Abdulraheem and his twin brother, Abdullahi  were returning from school when Abdulraheem was lured by the suspects, making him to leave his parents’ house to follow them to an unknown location.

The father told the police that all efforts made to locate the victim proved abortive.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that when the police invited the siblings for interrogation, they denied having anything to do with the missing twin, leading to a search party for the boy.

It was during the process that the decomposing body of the victim was found in an unoccupied building at Alubarika area Saki, on Monday.

The police commissioner said that during interrogation, Waliu and Ilias confessed to have conspired to kidnap the victim for ransom, but eventually killed him because he could identify them.

She made it known that further updates on the incident would be provided in due course as investigation continues.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that it was the deceased’s twin brother, Abdullahi Taiwo, who exposed the suspected killers when he was not seen at home after returning from school.

In an interview with Waliu, he said: “I planned with my younger brother, Ilias, to kidnap Abdulraheem Bamimore to collect ransom from his parents. What we intended to do was to tie our victim in a secluded place, call the parents to demand for ransom before his release after payment.

“He was coming from school when we stylishly asked him to get us water. When he came back with the water, we took him to a building near our parents’ house which had been completed but not yet occupied. We tied his hands and legs and asked him whether he could recognise either of us, to which he answered in the affirmative. We then thought that if we released him, he would go home to tell his parents about our plans for him and they would ask police to arrest us. That was why we decided to poison him.”

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How we got poison

“Our father trades in rat poison, but he used to lock the door to where he was keeping them to prevent children from playing with them. He also did that because some of us used to sell them without his knowledge and spend the money. We stole one of the keys and it was used to open where the packs of poison were kept. We poured it into water and asked Abdulraheem to drink it.

“This is the first time we will carry out the act, though we had been thinking about it and discussing how to perfect the plans. We asked the first child we targeted whether he could recognise us and he said yes, so we left him. We killed Abdulraheem because we did not ask him initially, until we tied his hands and legs. If we had asked him before tying him, we wouldn’t have killed him.”

He said that the third sibling, Abdulhamid, his half brother, who was also arrested knew nothing about the kidnap plan and the killing.

The sibling shares the same father with the first two but has different mother who is a junior wife to their own mother.

Waliu also said that they got their father into trouble because the poison used on the victim was taken from his business.

“The day the incident happened, our father was at home. We didn’t let Abdulhamid know because we were sure he would tell our father. That day, the three of us went to pluck mangoes while Ilias and I already had the plan to kidnap a child. As we were plucking the mangoes, our father called him (on phone) to come and take him to the  mosque in preparation for Jumat prayers. He was the one that used to take our father to wherever he wanted to go with our family motorcycle.

“Immediately he left, we seized the opportunity to move to the field where we planned to lay in wait for any child to kidnap.”

Waliu, who completed secondary school on 2018, said that he started learning Qur’an recitation and interpretation.

“I started learning in Lagos State but came home about four months ago. The thought of further learning about the Qur’an vanished from me because there was no money being made. That was how the evil thought of kidnapping came to my mind.

“We have realised that greed, covetousness and dissatisfaction were our problem,” Waliu said.

In his confession, 18-year-old Ilias narrated:  “Waliu is my elder brother from the same father and mother. He was the one who suggested that we should kidnap a child to get money.  When he first told me, I said I would not be able to do such a thing. He insisted that we should do it to make money and convinced me. Then I thought it would be okay once we don’t hurt the child.

“It happened at about 12noon. We were on a field when the twins were passing by. I knew their brother whom I was attending a Quranic school with.

“I told Abdulraheem that he should tell his brother that I wanted to see him. As he was going, my brother Waliu told him to come back to us after getting home, promising to give him mangoes. As expected, the boy came back. Before then, my brother had told me to open the door of the unoccupied property. When he got in, my brother asked him whether he knew him and he said he didn’t.  When asked about me, he said that he knew me very well.

“I called my brother and told him to let us spare the child but he started arguing, saying that he would go home to report us. He was the one who went to pick the poison. He had already mixed it with water before he brought it to where we kept the child. He gave the child to drink.

“The boy gave up in our presence. Initially, when he was given the poison, he started rolling on the floor in severe pain, holding his stomach. My brother asked him to lie down. When he noticed that he was not giving up easily, he used the rope used in tying his legs to hold his neck tight to strangulate him. That was how he died.

“My brother asked me to stay outside to watch out for anyone approaching.  I asked him what he would with the corpse but he said I should not bother. After the boy died, we left his body in the building and shut the door.”

The father of the suspects, Salaudeen, who was sobbing uncontrollably during interview, however said that he was innocent of what he was being accused of.

“I had already gone for Jumat service by the time my children committed the despicable act. It was my son, Abdulhamid who took me to the mosque on our motorcycle and when we returned, I didn’t hear of anything until late in the evening when people came, asking of Ilias. They asked him of the child and he said he had left our place for home immediately. I asked him to tell us what happened but my son did not open up. We took him to the police station but he did not confess until we found the remains of the child in an unoccupied house. I’m still in shock.”

Father of the murdered boy, Abdulafeez Bamimore, also spoke with the Nigerian Tribune: “On Friday, March 4, my twin sons got dressed and left for school. They are Primary Four Pupils. As they were coming home after closing from school, they met the suspects who asked after their elder brother, a friend to one of them, Ilias, and asked them to bring sachets of water for them. As they were addressing Abdulraheem in particular, Abdullahi was listening by the side. When they got home, Abdulraheem quickly picked the water sachets and ran to give the brothers. They collected the water and took him inside an unoccupied building, gave him rat poison to drink. When they noticed he didn’t die quickly and was pleading with them to spare his life, they tied his hands and legs and also strangled him. That was how they killed my son.

“We went to their house to ask of my son but they denied having anything to do with him. We started looking for my son and were perceiving an odour at the back of the suspects’ house, but their father said that it must have been a hen that died that was smelling. He was eventually found in the early hours of Monday in the aisle of the unoccupied property, covered with a blanket. That was when they confessed.”