Man allegedly stabs neighbour’s four-year-old daughter to death

A 30-year-old man has allegedly stabbed his neighbour’s four-year-old daughter to death in Enugu State, South-east Nigeria.

The suspect, Chukwuemeka Nweke, allegedly carried out the act on 18 August in a compound along Orba Road in Nsukka Local Government Area of the state.

Mr Nweke, the suspect, hails from Umuagu-Ozalla in Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state but resides in the said compound with the child’s parents and others.

The police spokesperson in Enugu State, Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday night.

Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, said the suspect has been arrested by police operatives serving in Nsukka Divisional Police Headquarters.

How the man murdered the four-year-old

The police spokesperson said the suspect allegedly murdered the victim, Zinachukwu Ugwu, while she was sleeping inside her family’s house.

Mr Ndukwe said the suspect initially attempted to attack other neighbours who resisted him and escaped before he finally struck the child in the apartment.

He said the suspect saw the “helpless child” sleeping and used the knife to cut through her throat.

“The body of the child was taken to the hospital, confirmed dead, and deposited in the mortuary.

“Additionally, the knife used by the suspect to commit the crime, quantities of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp, and an object suspected to be a charm were recovered from him,” Mr Ndukwe said.

I was under the influence of alcohol and drugs – Suspect

Mr Ndukwe said the victim has confessed to killing the child and claimed that he acted alone under the influence of Indian hemp, alcohol and methamphetamine, a hard drug.

“He (suspect)also confessed to being a member of the Vikings Confraternity and that in 2022, while residing in Jos, Plateau State, he was involved in a cult clash during which he murdered a male member of the rival cult group,” the police spokesperson said.

He said the suspect would be arraigned and prosecuted as soon as investigations were concluded.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Kanayo Uzuegbu, has described the murder of the child “as barbaric and unthinkable,” Mr Ndukwe said.

Mr Uzuegbu commiserated with the victim’s parents and loved ones and assured that the police in the state would do everything possible to get justice for the victim.

He consequently ordered the deputy commissioner of police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation, Enugu to ensure speedy investigations and prosecution of the suspect.

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Prohibited in Nigeria

Murder is outlawed in Section 315 (6) of the Nigeria Criminal Code Act.

Offenders, on conviction, face a death sentence, section 319 (1) says.

Several persons have been sentenced to death for murder across the country.

An Aiyetoro High Court in Ogun State, for instance, sentenced a man, Adelake Bara, to death by hanging in June 2022 for shooting and killing one Olaleye Oke.

A high court in Lokoja, Kogi State, in January 2022, also sentenced a man, Muritala Dare, to death by hanging for stabbing his colleague to death with a broken bottle.