Yesterday, at White Sands area of Isheri-Osun, Lagos, following a startling revelation by a teenager of how he lured a three-year-old child to a Muslim cleric, popularly called Alfa, who then killed him.
The 15-year-old suspect, a primary six pupil, stated that the cleric, Kazeem Alimson, paid him N500 to lure the victim to a designated point, from where she was taken away to be killed.
Vanguard gathered that the victim’s mother, Chinasa Okereke, was bathing her children outside her compound on Akogun Street, Tuesday night, but went inside to get a wrapper with which to strap her youngest child on her back so she can attend to others.
But apprehension set it when Okereke came out only to discover that her child was nowhere to be found. According to the devastated mother, who spoke with Vanguard during a visit to her house yesterday,
“when I asked where he was, his sister said he went into one of our neighbour’s apartment. But on getting to the apartment, he was not there. I was informed that he went out with my neighbour’s nephew. “But when he came back home, he said he did not know anything about my son’s whereabouts. He admitted to have seen him earlier, but said that he only saw him walking towards the opposite direction.”
A search around the vicinity was organised, but the boy was not found.
Policemen from the Isheri-Osun Division, who were contacted the next day (Wednesday) stormed the area and effected the teenager’s arrest, his guardians and other occupants of the building. During interrogation, he opened up, revealing how he took the missing child to Alfa Alimson, thereby leading to the latter’s arrest.
He then led policemen to an uncompleted building within the area, where the remains of the missing boy was found— gagged, with his limbs bound.
Explaining how the act was carried out, the teenager who hails from Abia State, said:
“This man (pointing to Alfa) told me to bring the boy. That night, he gave me N500 and was waiting for us. “I took the child to him and he drove to the uncompleted building. When we got to the site, he covered the boy’s mouth with a red cloth, tied him up and started saying some Juju language (incarnations). Later, he hit the child’s head three times with a stone. “He warned me not to tell anybody. He said if I do, he will kill me. He showed me a juju knife, with which he said he would butcher me if I revealed what happened to anybody. “That was why I told everybody that I knew nothing about the boy’s disappearance when I came back home.”
Denial However, Alfa Alimson denied knowing anything about the boy’s murder. He simply stated that he did not know what the teenager was talking about. He said:
“I was sleeping in my house yesterday, when I heard people shouting outside. When I came out, I saw some policemen around. I demanded to know why the policemen were there and was informed that a dead child was found in the uncompleted building. “I went back inside. But 30 minutes later, police came back and arrested me. I don’t know this boy (the teenager) and I have never spoken to him.” “You’re lying” But at this point, the teenager interjected, saying “he is lying. He was giving me signs not to talk. I saw when he hit the boy with a stone on the head three times.”
Residents, who throng the scene, were seen in different groups giving different accounts of how the act was committed. Two police vans from Isheri-Osun Division were sighted at the scene, with some policemen led by the Divisional Police Officer, Emeodi Camillus, a Chief Superintendent of Police.
Angry residents, who called for jungle justice, were prevented by the policemen from getting close to the suspects. The suspects were then driven to the station in one of the police vans, with some inquisitive residents following on motorbikes and on foot.
