Police arrest security guardover alleged rape, death of 11-year-old girl

The Niger State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old security guard, identified as Godwin Dauda, over the alleged rape and death of an 11-year-old girl, Christabel Albert, in Suleja.

The girl’s body was discovered inside a well on the premises of the Apostolic Church in Suleja after she was reported missing, according to the state police command.

Police spokesman, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said the incident began on September 19, 2026, when Christabel reportedly left home to attend a birthday ceremony for a relative in the area but failed to return.

A missing-person report was lodged at the A Division Police Station in Suleja at about 12:30 p.m. on September 20, according to the police account.

Later that day, a pastor of the Apostolic Church reportedly went to the police station to report that a body had been found inside a well within the church premises.

Police officers, assisted by officials from the Suleja Local Government welfare department, recovered the body and took it to General Hospital, Suleja, where it was subsequently identified as that of the missing girl.

According to Abiodun, investigators subsequently focused on Dauda, who worked as a security guard attached to the church and had allegedly fled the premises after the discovery of the body.

The police said Dauda was arrested at about 8 p.m. on September 23 in the Kuje area of the Federal Capital Territory, where he had reportedly gone into hiding.

The police spokesman said the suspect allegedly confessed during interrogation to luring the girl into his security room at the church on September 19 and sexually assaulting her.

According to the police account, Dauda said the girl died during the incident and that he subsequently dumped her body inside the well in an attempt to conceal the crime before fleeing.

The allegation and purported confession have not been tested in court, and Dauda remains a suspect at this stage.

The Niger State Police Command said preliminary investigations were ongoing and that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Minna for further investigation and prosecution.

The case has drawn attention because the alleged incident involved an 11-year-old child and occurred on the premises of a church where the suspect reportedly worked.

Authorities have not announced the outcome of any forensic examination or disclosed further details about the circumstances of the girl’s death beyond the preliminary account provided by the police.

The police investigation is expected to establish the sequence of events, determine the precise cause of death and gather evidence for any subsequent prosecution.

Until the case is determined by a court, the allegations against Dauda remain allegations and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.