‘How Bauchi woman kidnapped newborn, killed two 7-year-old girls’

By Ayox Ojo

A 19-year-old woman identified as Esther Gambo, has been arrested over killing of two seven-year-old girls and abduction of a newborn in Lemoro Village, Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

The incident, which occurred on July 22 sparked off violent protests, during which angry Muslim youths of the community reportedly set churches ablaze and attempted to burn down the Tulu Divisional Police Headquarters.

But Bauchi Police Command spokesperson, CSP Ahmed Wakil, announced a breakthrough in the investigation of the incident on Thursday with the arrest of the main suspect.

According to the police spokesperson, the suspect enticed seven-year-old girls identified Khadija Sama’ila and A’isha Dahiru, from Unguwan Sarkin Yaki Village to facilitate the abduction of the newborn.

He identified the mother of the abducted child as Nafisa Dahiru.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that after taking the baby, the suspect led the girls to a nearby maize farm, where they were brutally murdered.

“Upon receiving the report, police officers, working with local vigilance groups, swiftly launched an operation and recovered the remains of the children.

“The operatives also rescued the kidnapped newborn, after catching the suspect,” he said.

He said that reinforcements from the Area Command and neighbouring divisions were deployed to restore order and successfully quell the uprising that followed the incident.

He confirmed that 16 people were being detained in connection with the unrest

.“Reinforcements from the Area Command Toro and neighbouring divisions were deployed to restore order, successfully repelling the aggressive actions against the police station.

As a result of this unrest, sixteen suspects have been arrested in connection with the case, including Abbas Abdullahi, 20 years, Mubarak Auwal, 19 years, Abdullahi Muhammad (Alias P.A), 19 years,

“Dauda Abdullahi, 19 years, Abubakar Sama’ila, 18 years, Abdulmutallib Ibrahim, 18 years, Yazid Auwal, 20 years, Abdulrahman Ibrahim, 17 years, Abdulwahid Sulaiman, 17 years, Salihu Shuaibu, 20 years, Sirajo Halliru, 24 years, Musayib Abdullahi, 21 years, Ibrahim Abubakar, 19 years, Esther Idi, 19 years, Gambo Yakubu, 20 years, and Idi Bitrus, 50 years, “ The Bauchi Police Command spokesperson said in the statement.

He quoted the Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, to have condemned the violence.

The police boss was also said to have urged the residents to maintain calm and avoid taking the law into their own hands.

“He assured that a thorough investigation is already ongoing to ensure that justice is served,” Wakil also said.