By Christopher Oji and Kenechukwu Madukaife
The Police in Lagos have arrested a roasted meat (suya) seller, Abdulahi, for allegedly attempting to slaughter a four- year-old girl for Suya.
The suspect, had allegedly abducted the girl at White sand area of Ebute Meta, while she was playing with her mates in an open field.
It was gathered that the suspect had taken the victim to a secluded area where he had attempted to slaughter the girl with a knife.
Daily Sun gathered that luck smiled at the little girl as a man who saw the suya seller trying to slaughter the girl raised the alarm, which attracted other people who rescued the girl. It was gathered that the suya seller who resisted the people stabbed one person and bit another.
Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni, who confirmed the incident to newsmen yesterday said that the Good Samaritans succeeded in rescuing the victim from the grip of the suspect.
He said that one of the Good Samaritans in an attempt to disarm the suspect sustained minor injury on his hand. He said: “The suspect was subsequently handed over to the Police at Denton Police Station, Oyingbo. Police investigation revealed that the suspect had abducted the little girl from where she was playing with her friends with the sole intension of slaughtering her. It is a clear case of kidnap and attempted murder.”
However, in a swift reaction, a brother to the suspect who identified himself simply as Ibrahim, at the venue of the parade claimed that the suspect was a sick person.
He alleged that the suspect was mentally unstable but that he was treated and discharged.
He said: “I am a suya seller. I sell suya at White sand area of Ebute Meta. My brother was not okay before. He was treated in the village five years ago before he came to Lagos. Maybe the sickness has come back again.
“On the day of the incident, while we were selling suya, suddenly my brother started behaving funny. He grabbed the table and turned it upside down scattering the entire suya in the process.
We tried to hold him, but he escaped.
During the confusion that followed he grabbed the little girl and we tried to free the girl from him. It was while we were trying to set free the little girl that one man sustained injury on his hand.”