A Nigerian soldier has allegedly tortured a ten-year-old boy to death in the Hayin Banki area of Kaduna State.
According to the Daily Trust, the boy went into the Kotoko Barracks which shares a boundary with the community to pluck mangoes from a tree. He was then accosted by the soldier but managed to flee.
The soldier was said to have followed the boy back to the community and detained him in the barracks where he tortured the young boy to death.
The traditional leader of the community, the Sardauna of Hayin Banki, Malam Ibrahim Hassan Wuyo, who confirmed the incident, said colleagues of the soldier warned him to release the boy but he refused.
“The boy who bears the name Muslim went into the Kotoko Barracks which shares a boundary with the Hayin Banki community to pluck mangoes from a tree. The soldier queried why the boy came into the barracks and the boy was able to run away. The soldier then traced the boy back to the community; he took him back to the barracks and detained him. I was told that while he was torturing the boy, other colleagues warned him to release the boy but he refused.” he stated.
The Sardauna said after the boy died the soldier allegedly threw his body at Unguwan Kanawa community, adding that the military have handed over the suspect to the police.
Confirming the incident, spokesperson of the Kaduna State Police Command, ASP Mohammed Jalige, said the soldier has been arrested and the investigation had commenced into the matter.
