The Niger State Police Command has clarified the circumstances surrounding the death of 11-year-old Christabel Albert in Suleja, dismissing what it described as misleading narratives circulating on social media.
The command, in a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said the facts established so far indicated that the girl was reported missing on September 20, 2026.
According to the statement, Christabel had reportedly left her home on September 19 to attend a relative’s birthday celebration within the area but failed to return home.
The police said that later the same day, a pastor of the Apostolic Church in Suleja reported the discovery of a body inside a well located within the church premises.
Police operatives subsequently visited the scene and, with the assistance of local government welfare officials, recovered the body and took it to the General Hospital, Suleja, for examination.
The deceased was later identified as Christabel, who had earlier been reported missing.
The command said investigations subsequently led operatives to identify 26-year-old Godwin Dauda, a security guard attached to the church, as a person of interest.
According to the police, information obtained during the investigation suggested the suspect might have been connected to the incident, while he was also said to have disappeared from the church premises shortly after the incident.
Dauda was subsequently arrested on September 23 at about 8 p.m. in the Kuje area of the Federal Capital Territory, where the police said he had fled.
The police said the suspect, during interrogation, confessed to luring the deceased to his security room on September 19, where he allegedly sexually assaulted her.
The command said the suspect further confessed to suffocating the girl by blocking her mouth and nose, resulting in her death.
He allegedly told investigators that he subsequently disposed of the girl’s body in the well in an attempt to conceal the incident before fleeing the area.
The police, however, said investigations were still ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
The suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, in Minna, for further interrogation and prosecution in accordance with the law.
The command urged members of the public to disregard unverified information and refrain from circulating narratives capable of misleading the public, assuring that it remained committed to transparency, accountability, protection of vulnerable persons and the administration of justice.