Niger Police say 26-year-old suspect allegedly lured the child into a security room before abandoning her body in a well and fleeing to Abuja
The Niger State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old church security guard, Godwin Dauda, in connection with the death of an 11-year-old girl, Christabel Albert, in Suleja, Niger State.
The incident came to light on September 20, 2026, after a report was lodged at A Division, Suleja, concerning the disappearance of the child, who had reportedly left home the previous day to attend a relative’s birthday ceremony.
Later that evening, a pastor of the Apostolic Church in Suleja reported the discovery of a body inside a well within the church premises.
Police operatives, assisted by local government welfare officials, recovered the body and conveyed it to General Hospital, Suleja, where it was subsequently identified as that of the missing girl.
Following preliminary investigations, suspicion reportedly fell on Dauda, a security guard attached to the church, who had allegedly fled the premises after the incident.
The suspect was subsequently arrested on September 23 in the Kuje area of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, where the police said he had gone into hiding.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Niger State Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the arrest in a statement issued on Friday, September 25.
According to the police, the suspect allegedly confessed during interrogation to luring the girl into his security room, where he sexually assaulted her and later discovered that she had died.
The police said the suspect further confessed to disposing of the child’s body in the well in an attempt to conceal the crime before fleeing to the FCT.
The Command said preliminary investigations are ongoing, while the suspect is expected to be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Minna for further investigation and prosecution.
Authorities have not indicated that the case has reached trial, and the allegations against the suspect remain subject to due legal process.
