The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested a 23-year old man for allegedly raping a mentally ill 10-year old boy after luring him with a N30 sweet.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, a Superintendent of Police, stated this in a media statement he made available to journalists in tbe State on Wednesday.
The statement was titled: “Garden egg seller arrested for raping unsound minor.”
He said that the suspect lured the boy to the back of a filing station situated at Kofar Ran in the Bauchi metropolis and had carnal knowledge of him.
The PPRO noted that unfortunately for him, the boy recognized the suspect and rushed to the Manager of the filing station and reported to him what had happened to him.
Wakil said: “Operatives attached to Operation Restore Peace (ORP) Bauchi State Police Command arrested Sanusi Umar ‘m’ 23 years old on the 28th March 2024 at about 9.00pm, for raping a 10-year old boy (name withheld).
“The suspect lured the minor with a N30 sweet and asked the victim to accompany him to an isolated area behind the AIB filling station along Kofar Ran to defecate.
“After the defection, the suspect asked the victim to undress his trouser that he wanted to see whether he clean his anus. Upon removing his trousers, the suspect also removed his trousers, grabbed the victim from the back and had canal knowledge of him.
“The victim rushed to the manager of the filling station and informed him that the said suspect had canal knowledge of him.”
According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect who hails from Jingino village, Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa state, came to Bauchi State about two years ago, hawking garden eggs at AIB filling station along Kofar Ran, in the metropolis.
“It is also revealed that the suspect leveraged the unsound mental condition of the victim to perpetrate such a crime on him,” he said.
Wakil said that the victim was rushed to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi alongside the the suspect, where different tests were conducted on him to determine his health status.
He said that the investigation into the incident is still in progress and upon completion, the suspect would be charged to court for prosecution.
“Finally, the Commissioner of Police, CP Auwal Musa Mohammed, calls parents, Guardians, and leaders wielding various degrees of influence to prevail on their wards and proteges to shy away from crime.
“He assured the good people of Bauchi State of his unrelenting commitment towards maintaining an aggressive stance against all forms of crime and criminality in the state,” he assured.