State Security Service (SSS) in Abuja, has
arrested a 43-year-old man, Saturday Dewakei,
said to have abducted and killed a five-year-
old boy. Mr Ibrahim Halilu, the assistant director in
charge of the command’s operations, told
newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja that the
suspect was arrested on Aug. 25 at Aso C,
Gbagalape, a settlement in Nyanya, FCT. Halilu said that Dewakei, a native of Azegbane
village of Ekeremor Local Government in
Bayelsa and father of 10, kidnapped the boy
and demanded a N5 million ransom from the
father. He said the victim was the son of the suspect’s
neighbour, one Adamu Isa. “On April 19 at about 12.45 p.m, Dewakei
sneakily entered Isa’s house through the
ceiling and kidnapped the victim while he was
asleep. “Thereafter, Dewakei demanded a N5 million
ransom from the father for the release of the
kidnapped boy. “Investigation revealed that Dewakei killed the
child in an uncompleted building and
dumped the body in a septic tank when the
ransom was not paid,’’ he said. He said that a locally made revolver pistol with
one round of live ammunition was recovered
from the the suspect’s house. Halilu said that the suspect took operatives of
the service to the scene of the crime, where
the remains of the boy were recovered. He said the suspect would be arraigned and
prosecuted upon completion of investigation. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that
the service displayed some skeletons said to
be part of the remains of the boy before
newsmen. Speaking with newsmen, the suspect
confessed to kidnapping the victim, identified
as Sadiq Abubakar, in order to extort money
from his family. “I did not kill him personally but
unfortunately, the boy died on the day I went
to collect the N100,000 ransom which the
father (Isa) arranged to give me,’’ he said. Dewakei claimed that the boy fell into the
septic tank as he attempted to escape. “He did not die instantly; I looked at him and
saw he was unconscious. So I was looking for
ladder to rescue him but there was no ladder. “The soak-away was so deep, I cannot jump
inside. If I jump inside, I will not come out,’’
he said. He said that when he eventually got a ladder
to rescue the boy, “he died in my hand.’’ “I did not kill him intentionally; I did not have
the mind to kill him. The mind I have, because
of frustration, was to kidnap him and make
money,’’ he said. He said he collected the N100,000 and
demanded for another N300,000, adding that
he was about to collect the N300,000 when
he was arrested. The suspect, who claimed to be an electrician,
however denied ever kidnapping anybody
before the incident or belonging to a
kidnapping syndicate. He said that the gun recovered from him was
given to him while he was vice chairman of
his community and member of its vigilante to
protect it against sea pirates.
