By Ado Oyeyemi
The Niger State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old security guard, Godwin Dauda, in connection with the alleged rape and death of an 11-year-old girl, Christabel Albert, in Suleja.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, saying the girl was reported missing on September 19 after leaving home to attend a relative’s birthday ceremony in the area.
According to the police, the case took a new turn after a pastor of the Apostolic Church, Suleja, reported the discovery of a body inside a well within the church premises.
Abiodun said police officers, assisted by officials of the local government welfare department, recovered the body and took it to the General Hospital, Suleja, where it was identified as that of the missing girl.
The police said suspicion fell on Dauda, who was attached to the church as a security guard, after he allegedly fled the premises following the discovery of the body.
The command said the suspect was subsequently arrested around 8pm on September 23 in the Kuje area of the Federal Capital Territory, where he was allegedly hiding.
According to Abiodun, the suspect allegedly confessed during interrogation that he lured the girl into his security room at the church on September 19 and sexually assaulted her.
The police spokesperson said Dauda further confessed that the girl died during the alleged assault, after which he reportedly dumped her body in the well in an attempt to conceal the incident before fleeing the area.
The command said preliminary investigation into the case was ongoing, adding that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Minna for further investigation and prosecution.
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The police assured that further developments in the investigation would be communicated as the case progresses.
