Police arrest guard over defilement, death of minor in Niger

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The Police Command in Niger has detained a 26-year-old security guard, Godwin Dauda, over the alleged defilement and death of an 11-year-old girl in Suleja.

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The command’s spokesperson, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on Friday in Minna.

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Abiodun said the police received a missing-person report at the Suleja Police Division on Sept. 20, after the girl failed to return home.

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He said the girl had left home on Sept. 19 to attend a relative’s birthday ceremony within the area.

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According to him, a pastor of the Apostolic Church, Suleja, later reported the discovery of a dead body inside a well on the church premises.

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He said police officers and officials of the Suleja Local Government Council visited the scene and recovered the body.

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“The body was then taken to the Suleja General Hospital, where it was identified as that of the missing girl,” he said.

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Abiodun said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect allegedly defiled the girl before disposing of her body in the well.

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“The girl’s body was found inside the well within the premises of the Apostolic Church in Suleja, where the suspect works as a security guard,” he said.

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The spokesperson said Dauda allegedly fled the area after the body was recovered in an attempt to evade arrest.

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He said the suspect was subsequently arrested around Kuje in the Federal Capital Territory at about 8 p.m. on Sept. 23.

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Abiodun said Dauda allegedly confessed during interrogation to luring the girl into his security room at the church.

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According to him, the suspect told investigators that he defiled the girl and that she subsequently died.

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He said the suspect also allegedly told the police that he disposed of the girl’s body in the church well in an attempt to conceal the crime.

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The spokesperson said investigation into the case was ongoing, adding that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Minna.

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He said the transfer would facilitate further investigation and possible prosecution if the suspect was found culpable.

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(NAN)

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