A Suya seller identified as Alliu Abdulahi, 35, has been arrested by men of the Lagos state police command on grounds that he attempted to kill a 4-year-old girl for meat.
the arrested suspect was alleged to have abducted the young girl while she was playing with her peers on an open field at the White sand area of Ebute Meta, Lagos.
However, as the Suya seller took the girl to a secluded area attempting to slaughter her, he was caught by a man who raised an alarm leading to his capture.
Speaking on the arrest, the Police Commissioner in the state, Fatai Owoseni, stated that the Good Samaritans succeeded in rescuing the young girl from captivity.
He further revealed that the man who raised the alarm sustained injuries while calling for help.
The Police Commissioner said: “The suspect was subsequently handed over to the Police at Denton Police Station, Oyingbo. Police investigation revealed that the suspect had abducted the little girl from where she was playing with her friends with the sole intention of slaughtering her. It is a clear case of kidnap and attempted murder.
“The child has been reunited with her mother, while the kidnapper and would-be murderer will be arraigned in court.”
The arrested suspect was however unable to express himself when approached for interrogation.
Report indicates that the Suya seller’s relative, Akilu Isa, claimed that he was insane upon arrest.
Isa said: “He is my brother. He is not mentally stable. He had a shock while he was a child, which affected his brain. At times, he would behave normal and at other times he would behave abnormally.
“I am a suya seller. I sell suya at White sand area of Ebute Meta. My brother was not okay before. He was treated in the village five years ago before he came to Lagos. Maybe the sickness has come back again.
“On the day of the incident, while we were selling suya, suddenly my brother started behaving funny. He grabbed the table and turned it upside down scattering the entire suya in the process.
“We all sell roasted meat (Suya) at the market. On that fateful day, the mental disorder gripped him. He immediately picked up the girl and at the same time, lifted a knife which he uses for Suya.
“At that point I beckoned on my other relative, Salisu, to come to the girl’s aid. We immediately gripped him and succeeded in retrieving the knife from him. Thereafter, we tied him with a rope.
“I was even the person that told a crowd, who attempted to beat him, to call the Police to arrest him. When the Police came, they took him away.
“But to my surprise, when I went to the station with the chairman of our section, I was arrested with another relative of ours. As I speak, I don’t know the reason why I am arrested.”
