The Nation reports that two men narrowly escaped death after they were saved by the police of Lapai Division from being lynched by an angry mob after they were found with the remains of a four year-old boy who had been lost for four days.
The incident occurred in Lapai town in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State.
It was learnt that one of the suspect identified as Emmanuel who is a building materials trader had connived with his gateman to kidnap the child and kill him.
Sources in Lapai disclosed that the duo killed the child and removed his vital organs, which include his private parts, eyes, ears and heart and his remains were put in the sack for the gateman whose identity is yet unknown to dispose.
The gateman boarded a motorcycle to a stream where he intended to dispose the remains but the motorcyclist noticed blood dripping from the sack and went to the Police station to state his concern.
The Police mobilised and moved to the stream, where the gateman was arrested.
He reportedly confessed that he was sent by his landlord to dump the body and that they were responsible for the kidnap of the boy who had been declared missing for some days.
The police’s intervention reportedly angered the mob, which proceeded to set the house and shop on fire.
A resident in the area, Mahmood Abdul, said that they never knew Emmanuel was a ritual killer, adding that he was lucky they did not get him first before the police came.
“There are evil men in every community, Emmanuel is one of them. We have set his house on fire. We wish he was the one we got, we would have killed him.”
Another resident, Maryam Kwambo said, “Since the inception of Lapai Local Government, we’ve never encountered such a radical and wicked situation as today. We will get to the root of this. We will get justice for the child he killed.
“Just four days ago, we heard information about the missing child and no one could give an account of his whereabouts, only to discover that Emmanuel had him all this time and killed him. This matter should be handled properly. We seek justice”, she said.
The Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Wasiu, confirmed the incident and the arrests and stated that investigation on the matter had commenced.
