Police arrest 4 over alleged killing of boy for ritual in Nasarawa

The Nasarawa State Police Command has arrested one Mr Emmanuel (surname withheld) of Ushata village in Nasarawa Local Government Area of the state for allegedly killing Isaac Joshua, his friend’s seven-year-old son for ritual.

The command’s spokesman, DSP Idrissu Kenedy, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lafia, the state capital.

Kenedy disclosed that the suspect was arrested following a report to the police by the father of the deceased, Joshua Ebini, on the disappearance of his son on October 10.

He said the information from the suspect led to the arrest of three other suspects, while a fourth accomplice to the alleged crime was still at large.

Kenedy said the suspects, during interrogation, confessed to the crime, with each of them narrating his level of involvement.

According to the spokesman, the prime suspect, Emmanuel, confessed to have lured the boy away from the father’s house on a motorbike to a forest and killed him with a stick.

He confessed that he removed the seven-year-old boy’s genital and right buttock as requested by his collaborators.

The spokesman said investigation revealed that the whole idea was muted by Tunde (surname withheld).

He said Tunde made another suspect, Isah (surname withheld), to believe that his aged father in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, had the power to do money ritual for them, provided they could provide some human parts.

“Isah claimed not to be interested in taking human life in order to make money, but contacted Yohanna (surname withheld), who brought Emmanuel, the prime suspect, into the deal,” Kenedy said.

He added that the remains of the deceased were recovered from where it was dumped and buried by the family.

Kenedy said the police was on the trail of the other suspects, adding that all the suspects would be prosecuted as soon as investigation was concluded on the matter.