A 29-year-old woman, Jamila Abubakar, has been arrested for allegedly beating her seven-year-old stepson, Muhammad Bashir to death in Kano state.
She was arrested on Thursday, September 18 by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Kano State command, and handed to the police for investigation and prosecution.
Shehu Umar, NAPTIP Zonal Commander in charge of the state, confirmed the arrest in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano state.
Umar disclosed that the suspect was apprehended on Thursday after she beat her seven-year-old stepson to death at Tarauni Kasuwa area of Kano metropolis.
The Commander recalled that the agency had invited the suspect over alleged child abuse after the deceased was rescued from the suspect in the past few months.
He explained,
We received information that the deceased who was rescued few months ago was allegedly clubbed to death by his stepmother.
On receiving the information, operatives of NAPTIP swung into action and arrested the suspect.
Umar stressed;
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect confined the deceased in a room without food when they left home for their daily engagements.
The suspect was invited and the victim rescued by our team. The Agency provided shelter and medication to the victim before reuniting him with his father.
He added;
The couple wrote an undertaking that the boy would not be confined again and promised to take care of the child’s protection and wellbeing when they set out for their normal businesses.
The case has been transferred to Kano Police Command for discrete investigation and prosecution.
