How I plucked my victim’s eye to make a charm — Suspect

The suspect.

A 17-year-old boy, identified as Isah Hassan, yesterday, narrated how he plucked the eyeball of a 12-year-old, Mustapha Yunusa, to prepare charms that would make him invisible to gunmen and bandits in the forest where he goes to fetch firewood in Bauchi State.

Hassan, an indigene of Tarauni Local Government Area of Kano State, said after luring the almajiri boy to a silent environment, he used a knife to remove the eyeball.

The suspect made the confession before newsmen when he was paraded by the Police. Public Relations Officer, SP Abdullahi Haruna, at the Bompai Police headquarters in Kano.

He said he carried out the act under the instruction of an alleged herbalist, Furera Abubakar, who demanded the human eye to make the charm.

According to him, "The woman told me to get the human eye to prepare a charm that would make me disappear.

"She is in our neighbourhood, in Dan Tsinke. I got to know that she does the charm through her grandson, Sani Abdulrahman, who told me that if I go to her, she will make it for me, except if she doesn’t intend to.

"I sort for the charm for protection against bandits and gunmen who attack us when we go to the bush in Bauchi to fetch firewood.

I lured him to follow me so that I could send him on an errand and give him food. I tired his hand and used a knife to pluck his eye. "

Upon interrogation, the alleged herbalist, Furera Abubakar, 107-year-old, denied knowing anything relating to the charm making allegation but admitted that she gives herbal medicines to people that need her assistance.

The alleged herbalist.

She said: "He is lying. Rashes came out on his body and my grandson asked him to come for medication in my place, knowing that I did the same for his younger brother, who was healed.

I have grandchildren, but I have never removed any of their eyes. So why will I ask for that from another? "

Earlier, the spokesman for Kano Police Command, Abdullahi Haruna, said the command received a complaint on March 20, 2022, about the incident where an Almajiri boy, Mustapha Yunusa, was found with his eyeball plucked.

"On March 22, 2022, we received a very ugly report that a boy, 12-years old, was seen by the roadside in Sheka quarters in Kumbotso LGA with his right eyeball removed with blood gushing out.

"Upon receiving the report, the Commissioner of Police, Sama’ila Dikko, immediately raised a team of policemen led by Divisional Police Officer, Sheka Division, CSP Mohammed Alfa, who went to the scene and rushed the victim to Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital where doctors confirmed that the eyeball was forcefully removed with an object.

He was admitted to the hospital, however, and the police have since launched an investigation.

"On March 29, 2022, the suspect was trailed and arrested with the help of the vigilantes in the area."

Bandits kill 23 in Kaduna villages.

*16 perish in the River Kaduna while escaping from bandits.

Twenty-three people were reportedly killed Tuesday night by bandits in two communities in the Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

It was gathered that many were injured by the bandits, who were reportedly shooting sporadically during the attacks on the communities.

A source said the bandits came in large numbers, wielding dangerous weapons, a development that made people scamper for safety.

The local said: "Villages attacked by the gunmen included Anguwar Maiwa and Anguwar Kanwa. The bandits attacked the villages at around 1:00 am on Tuesday.

The bandits were seen regrouping on motorbikes as early as 5 pm Monday, and security agents were duly informed, the local alleged.

16 perished in the River Kaduna escaping from bandits.

Meanwhile, about 16 villagers fleeing from terrorists who have been attacking their communities in Munya Local Government Area of Niger State yesterday drowned in the River Kaduna.

It was gathered that the gunmen, numbering about 100, had stormed Sayita Village in the local government, which prompted the villagers to desperately look for an escape route, and they decided to flee through River Kaduna.

It was gathered that the villagers loaded themselves into three boats and headed towards Zumba town in the Shiroro Local Government Area, but could not reach their destination as one of the boats hit a rock at Bodo village in Guni ward of the local government area and capsized.

An eyewitness said no fewer than 30 passengers were said to be in the boat that capsized.

According to an eyewitness, "Bandits invaded our communities this morning, and in an attempt to flee, some people drowned in the Guni-Zumba river." Due to overloading, the boat capsized in the middle of the water.

"For now, we don’t know the number of casualties because we have not been able to rescue anybody, but I can tell you that over 30 people, including women and children, were involved."

Efforts by those in the two other boats to rescue all the victims proved abortive as they succeeded in rescuing only 14.

He said while other travellers were trying to bury the remains of the deceased, they sighted the bandits trailing them and had to abandon the corpses and flee.

What happened to the corpses to be buried could not be immediately ascertained.

The head of the local divers in Zumba, popularly called "Sarkin Jirgi," who confirmed the tragedy on the phone, said eight corpses have already been recovered and that they include two adults and six children.

Contacted, the Director-General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, NSEMA, Ahmed Inga, confirmed the incident, saying a search and rescue operation has begun.

He said: "For now, we cannot say the number of people that died, and we cannot also confirm the exact number of people in the boats until after our investigations."

Culled from Vanguard.