Nuhu Mohammed, 26, and Sani Usman, 22, both of Izom Town, Gurara Local Government Area, Niger State, have been detained by police for allegedly conspiring to assassinate Ubaida Surajo, a 14-year-old secondary school student.
According to a statement released by the state’s police public relations officer on Friday, the small girl was killed on June 5, 2023, at her parents’ home in Izom, Gurara LGA, while her mother was away at the Izom Market.
According to Abiodun, one of the suspects, Nuhu, who was a tenant in the same home, admitted to the police during questioning that the deceased mother accused him of stealing her N90,000 in the early hours of the same day and that the charge incensed him to the point that he resolved to kill the girl.
When the girl came home from school, they attacked her and strangled her to death, the suspect claimed, explaining that he had summoned his friend Sani to the house to help.
The deceased was reportedly found to be dead after the mother returned from the market after the suspects apparently fled the scene and locked the house gate from the outside.
Police searched Abiodun’s room and found six knives, two cutlasses, a digger, and what seemed to be Nuhu’s bloodstained clothes, according to Abiodun.
Similarly, while purchasing weapons and ammunition in Lambata, Gurara LGA, police in the state detained one Mohammed Bande (aka Kachalla), 54, of Saminaka Village, Lapai LGA of Niger State, who was suspected of being a kidnapper.
According to Abiodun, a spokesman for the Niger State Police Command, the suspect was apprehended as a result of information concerning his activities.
Abiodun claimed that N1.7 million was found on the suspect during his arrest. He also said that during questioning, the suspect admitted that the money had been given to him by one Gora, who is still at large and is from the same village, for him to meet an unnamed arms dealer at Lambata to buy AK-47 ammunition.
He added that the intended purchase was to increase their ability to rob cattle and continue abduction in the Saminaka, Lapai, Lambata, and surrounding areas. Additionally, he claimed that he had a promise of N250,000 for the deal, the statement continued.
According to Abiodun, the stated Gora, who is on the run, and other collaborators are being sought.
