Two arrested for starving cousin to death over ‘witchcraft’ in Nasarawa

Two men have been arrested by the police in Nasarawa state for allegedly locking up their 35-year-old cousin and starving him to death over allegation that he was a witch.

Shettima Muhammad, acting commissioner of police in the state, confirmed the arrest on Monday.

Muhammad said the police received information on November 30 that the deceased — Mohammed Sani — had his hands and legs tied and locked away in his room where he was allegedly starved to death.

Muhammad said the family hurriedly buried the remains of Sani.

He added that further investigation is ongoing to arrest others that might have been involved in the incident.

He said the two suspects denied their involvement and claimed that they only participated in the burial after discovering the decomposing body of the deceased in his room.

In another development, Muhammad paraded 16 suspects arrested between October and November for various criminal offences across the state.

He said 10 of the suspects were arrested for armed robbery, five for kidnapping and one for defilement.

He added that police officers also recovered seven firearms and 27 rounds of live ammunition from the suspects.

He said on October 31, one Haba Yusuf was arrested for allegedly defiling a five-year-old girl.

He said the victim’s mother reported the case to the police when she found her daughter “walking abnormally”.

“Preliminary investigation showed that the suspect had also sexually molested two of his elder brother’s children aged eight years and 10 years before nemesis caught up with him,’’ Muhammad said.

He commended the collaboration of other security agencies and that of the citizens with the police in the fight against crime in Nasarawa and urged for more continued support.