Published: April 15, 2014
By: BluePrint (Nigeria)
The residents of Yola, the Adamawa state capital, now sleep with their eyes open as ritual killers are on the prowl; this followed the discovery of the corpse of an 11-year-old boy, Master Umar Saleh, in Rumde Baru ward in Yola North local government area of the state.
The residents have decried the increase in ritual activities, saying that the frequency with which mutilated dead bodies were found was alarming.
The corpse which was semi-concealed in a polythene sack was discovered by a passerby who quickly raised alarm.
Some residents said they believed that the corpse might have been dumped for about three days as it had completely decomposed.
The discovery of the dead body of Umar Saleh, whose eyes, tongue, nose, ears and genitals were severed, has ignited apprehension as many residents said the “trend is becoming rampant despite emergency rule clamped on the state.”
Father of the victim, Malam Sale Usman, told newsmen that the family had been looking for the victim for five days following his failure to return home after he accompanied his little sister to the popular Jambutu Motor Park where she sells food.
“The family has waited with baited breadth for the return of Umar which never occurred as we only found his mutilated body later,” he said.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Adamawa state Command, DSP Usman Abubakar, confirmed the development, saying that the police were doing all they could to get to the root of the matter.