A 26-year-old security guard, Godwin Dauda, has been arrested by the Niger State Police Command over the alleged rape and killing of an 11-year-old girl inside a church in Suleja.
The unfortunate incident came to light after the girl was reported missing on September 19, shortly after she left home to attend a relative’s birthday celebration in the area.
According to the police, a pastor of the Apostolic Church in Suleja later reported the discovery of a body inside a well located within the church premises.
Police officers, accompanied by local government welfare officials, visited the scene and recovered the body, which was taken to General Hospital, Suleja, for identification.
The remains were subsequently identified as those of the missing 11-year-old girl.
The police said suspicion turned to Dauda, a security guard attached to the church, after he allegedly fled the premises following the discovery of the body.
He was eventually arrested around 8pm on September 23 in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, where the police said he had gone into hiding.
The State Police Command spokesperson, Superintendent Wasi’u Abiodun, said the suspect allegedly confessed during interrogation to luring the girl into his security room at the church, where he sexually assaulted her.
Abiodun said the girl died during the alleged assault, after which Dauda reportedly dumped her body inside the well in an attempt to conceal the crime before fleeing the premises.
The police command said preliminary investigations were ongoing and that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Minna for further investigation and prosecution.
