EXTRA: Security operatives rescue 12-year-old boy hidden inside coffin in Kwara

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) says a 12-year-old boy has been rescued from suspected kidnappers in Kwara state.

Babawale Afolabi, NSCDC command’s spokesperson, said the rescue was the result of a joint operation, which included officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

The boy was said to have been discovered inside a coffin in an unmarked vehicle during a routine serch by officers.

According to Afolabi, the victim is originally from Benin Republic.

“Operatives of the Immigration Service spotted an unmarked vehicle and stopped the driver who later took to his heels on sighting the officers, leaving the car,” he said in a statement issued over the weekend.

“It was when the immigration officers searched the vehicle that they discovered a coffin, and when they opened the coffin, a minor of about 12 years old was seen inside the casket, covered with a white cloth.”

Afolabi said the immigration officers alerted the NSCDC and other security agencies, who were on border patrol, added that security operatives are working to ensure the arrest of the occupants of the vehicle who escaped.

“The boy has been medically examined and found to be fine, while further checks revealed that the boy is from a village in Benin Republic,” he said.

The boy is said to have been handed over to the police in Benin Republic to carry out further investigation, and ensure he is reunited with his family.