Herdsmen Kill 15-year-old Boy in Kogi

By Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja

Suspected Fulani herdsmen at the weekend allegedly ambushed and killed a 15-year-old boy, Mahmudu Audu, at Guchidan village of Kupa district, Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State. 

THISDAY reliably gathered yesterday from one Hon. Abubakar Mahmud that the herdsmen numbering three, allegedly butchered and mutilated the young boy.  

The source disclosed further that the boy  along his elder brother, Mallam Abubakar Audu, went to his father’s farm with a motorcycle to hunt for rats and grass cutters.  

They were ambushed by the Fulani herdsmen whose father lived in the community for years. 

The source narrated that during the attack,  the elder brother escaped but luck ran out of the younger one who fell into the hands of the Fulani herdsman who mutilated the boy.

 “His brother reported the case to the community and when they got to the farm they met that the boy had already been killed and then set their motorcycle on fire and escaped from the scene.” 

After the incident, the community stormed the farm and arrested one of the suspects,  Buba Arbo, while two other suspects escaped. 

The arrested suspect told the people that it was his father who asked them to kill the boy.  

He also confessed at the police station that they killed the boy for preventing their cows from grazing on their farm land, saying he killed the boy on the orders of his father. 

Mallam Mahmoud Abubakar told journalists that the Fulani herdsmen and his parent have been residing with the people of the community for a long time.  

He wondered why the father asked his son to kill the boy.  

He therefore appealed to the state government and the security agents to take a proactive action to avoid any crisis in the community.  

The case has been referred to the Kogi State Police Command for further investigation as the Fulani man never denied  the killing of the young boy.

   The late boy has since been buried in his town Guchidan according to Muslim rites.  

Meanwhile, when THISDAY called on the Police Public Relation Officer of Kogi State Police Command,  Mr.  William Ayah, to confirm the incident,  he said he was yet to get any information about the incident from the DPO in Kupa.