A 26-year-old security guard, Godwin Dauda, has been apprehended over the alleged defilement and death of an 11-year-old girl in Suleja, Niger State.
The Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Minna, the state capital, on Friday, September 25, 2026.
Abiodun said police received a missing-person report at the Suleja Police Division on September 20, after the girl failed to return home.
Abiodun said girl left home on September 19 to attend a relative’s birthday ceremony within the area.
He disclosed that a pastor of the Apostolic Church in Suleja later reported the discovery of a dead body inside a well in the church premises.
He said police officers and officials of the Suleja Local Government Council visited the scene and recovered the body.
“The body was then taken to the Suleja General Hospital, where it was identified as that of the missing girl,” the police spokesperson stated.
Abiodun said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly defiled the girl before disposing her body in the well.
“The girl’s body was found inside the well within the premises of the Apostolic Church in Suleja, where the suspect works as a security guard,” Abiodun said.
Niger mosque attack: 63 worshippers abducted, three killed — Bago
The police spokesman said Dauda allegedly fled the area after the body was recovered, in an attempt to evade arrest.
He added that the suspect was subsequently arrested around Kuje in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at about 8 p.m. on September 23.
Abiodun said Dauda confessed during interrogation to luring the girl into his security room at the church.
According to him, the suspect told police that he defiled the girl and that she subsequently died.
He said the suspect also told police that he disposed the girl’s body in the church’s well in an attempt to conceal the crime.
The police spokesperson said an investigation into the incident was ongoing, adding that Dauda would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Minna, for further investigation and possible prosecution if the suspect was found culpable.
- President Lula bans sports betting ahead of Brazil’s election - September 26, 2026
- ECOWAS Court mulls Appeal Division, stronger judgement enforcement - September 26, 2026
- Security guard rape, kill 11-year-old girl in Niger State - September 26, 2026
