by Dolapo Adelana
The police have arrested one Abubakar, a tea seller in Ngwayanma, in the Kontagora area of Niger State for allegedly sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy, identified only as Aminu, The Punch reports.
According to the newspaper, Abubakar had reportedly abducted Aminu from his parents’ house sometime in March and held him hostage in his (Abubakar’s) apartment.
Abubakar was arrested, the boy was admitted to a hospital, where he died.
A resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the victim’s parents are traumatised.
He said, “The boy’s parents suddenly discovered that he was missing and asked for his whereabouts from his friends, who denied knowledge of his whereabouts. Afterwards, a case of abduction was reported to the police. That was early March.
“A man alerted us two weeks later that he saw Aminu with Maishai (Abubakar). The suspect initially denied that the boy was in his custody. The boy was later found in his apartment in a critical condition. He looked tired and pale. Maishai confessed he had sex with him several times.
“The police were called to arrest him and Aminu was rushed to a hospital. He eventually died last week. The parents do not want to talk about the incident for now; they are devastated.”
A Nairaland user, Zakari Kontagora, also lamented the death of the boy on the platform.
Kontagora’s post in Hausa, partly read, “The boy was reportedly raped by a man called Abubakar. He had sex with the boy for a long time, which led to his death.
“The residents of Kontagora and neighbours expressed their sorrow and called upon security agents to take necessary actions. May Allah forgive the deceased and bless him. May He touch the hearts of these evil doers.”
According to a police source the accused was arraigned before a Kontagora Chief Magistrate’s Court before the boy died, on two counts of abduction and unnatural offences, to which he pleaded guilty.
“The unfortunate thing is that he was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment with a fine of N30,000, which is ridiculous. The punishment generated a lot of outcry.
“But it is not the police’s fault. What the police can do is to appeal the case or file a new charge, now that boy is dead,” he added.
The Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Elkana James, confirmed Aminu’s death, saying that the case had been transferred to the command headquarters in Minna.
He added that the suspect would be re-arraigned on a fresh charge of culpable homicide.
He said, “Our legal team is reviewing the sentence. When the suspect was charged to court, the boy was not dead. So, he was charged with abduction and unnatural offences.
“He and the boy, aged 12, lived within the same vicinity.
“He abducted him for two weeks and abused him during the period.
“Now that the boy is dead, we have a liberty to charge him with culpable homicide. That will be an additional charge.
“He is still in prison, serving the one month’s imprisonment. Once the new charge is filed, he would be reproduced to take his plea.”
Dolapo is a writer and journalist who works with YNaija. He has interests in Christianity, politics and sports.
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