The police in Bauchi state have announced the arrest of a 19-year-old woman, Esther Gambo for allegedly stealing a child and murdering two others.
In a press statement issued on Thursday, the Bauchi State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, said 19-year-old Esther Gambo, an indigene of Lemoro Village in Toro Local Government Area of the state, allegedly enticed two seven-year-old girls, Khadija Sama’ila and A’isha Dahiru, from Unguwan Sarkin Yaki Village, and lured them into helping her steal a newborn. Then, she reportedly murdered them thereafter.
The police spokesman disclosed that after receiving a report of the tragic incident, a team of officers were promptly deployed and they worked in collaboration with local vigilante groups to hunt down the suspect.
“They successfully recovered the deceased bodies of the young girls, apprehended Esther Gambo, and rescued a kidnapped newborn victim,” Wakil revealed in the press statement.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused, Esther Gambo, lured the girls intending to obtain a newborn female child belonging to Nafisa Dahiru. Following her acquisition of the baby, Esther allegedly led the two girls to a nearby maize farm, where she unlawfully ended their lives with a machete before fleeing the scene.”
The PPRO further disclosed that the tragic incident triggered public anger and unrest, especially among the local Muslim youth, who responded through violent protests, torching churches and an attempt to burn the Tulu Divisional Police Headquarters. But they were repelled by the police.
“Reinforcements from the Area Command Toro and neighbouring divisions were deployed to restore order, successfully repelling the aggressive actions against the police station,” Wakil said.
“As a result of this unrest, sixteen suspects have been arrested in connection with the case, including Abbas Abdullahi, 20 years, Mubarak Auwal, 19 years, Abdullahi Muhammad (Alias P.A), 19 years, Dauda Abdullahi, 19 years, Abubakar Sama’ila, 18 years, Abdulmutallib Ibrahim, 18 years, Yazid Auwal, 20 years, Abdulrahman Ibrahim, 17 years, Abdulwahid Sulaiman, 17 years, Salihu Shuaibu, 20 years, Sirajo Halliru, 24 years, Musayib Abdullahi, 21 years, Ibrahim Abubakar, 19 years, Esther Idi, 19 years, Gambo Yakubu, 20 years, and Idi Bitrus, 50 years.”
Meanwhile, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, has warned against people resorting to jungle justice in redressing issues, emphasising the importance of upholding the law and maintaining public order within Bauchi State.
He appealed to citizens not to take the law into their own hands and allow security agencies and law enforcement to do their job.
He reassured the public that a thorough investigation was underway, urging citizens to remain calm as the situation would be diligently and professionally addressed and perpetrators of the heinous crime brought to account.
