The Kwara State Police Command has arrested and arraigned a 12-year-old girl’s biological father and stepmother over the alleged torture of the minor, whose buttocks were reportedly burnt with a hot coal pot over a missing N100.
The girl, identified as Misturah Babatunde, was also allegedly beaten with an electrical wire after losing the money while hawking soya beans, locally known as “beske”, for her stepmother.
The Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Ilorin on Tuesday.
According to the police, the incident came to light on September 30, 2026, when a concerned resident of the Idigba area of Adewole, Ilorin, spotted the girl buying GV solution from a nearby chemist at about 9.26pm.
The command said the resident became suspicious and questioned the girl about her presence outside at that hour.
The encounter reportedly led to the discovery of the alleged abuse, as the girl narrated how she had been punished over the missing money.
“The girl disclosed that she had been beaten with an electrical wire and that her buttocks had been burnt with a hot coal-pot,” the police said.
The command identified the suspects as Babatunde Mustapha, the girl’s biological father; Abdulrahman Aisat, her stepmother; and Bashirat Abdulfatai, their neighbour.
“The electrical wire used in the assault and the hot coal-pot reportedly used to inflict the burns were listed as exhibits in the case,” the police said.
The command said the case was reported to the police and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department on October 9, 2026, before being referred to the Anti-Human Trafficking, Women and Children Protection Unit for discreet investigation.
“The three suspects have been arraigned in court and subsequently remanded at the Oke-Kura Correctional Facility,” the police said.
In a separate development, the command announced arrests in cases involving the alleged exhumation of graves and removal of human heads, the recovery of suspected human body parts allegedly intended for money-making rituals, the killing of a 65-year-old man with a machete, and the dismantling of a suspected motorcycle theft syndicate.