[ 2011-04-20 ]

Boy, 7, killed for 'sakawa'
Seven-year-old Abubakar Sadik, formerly of the
Church of Christ School, Winneba, has been
callously murdered, allegedly for ritual purposes
notoriously known as 'sakawa'.

The body of the young boy was chopped into pieces
in a very dehumanizing manner.

Although the incident occurred in December and two
suspects, Ali, 22, and Saadu, 24, are on remand at
the Winneba Prison, the father of the deceased,
Hamza Gariba, has petitioned the Police
Intelligence and Professional Standards (PIPS)
Unit to register his frustrations at the manner in
which some policemen were handling the case.

The suspects, who are brothers, took the child to
a nearby bush not too far from the University of
Winneba for the murder.

In the petition, Hamza Gariba, who at the time of
the murder was a teacher at the Alkashmiya
English/Arabic School at Gomoa Lome but now at
Apam Junction, stated that his son, a class two
pupil, was murdered on 7th December last year.

He is at his wit's end as to why the vehicle used
in the murder was quickly released to the owner by
the police even before the case reached an
advanced stage.

Hamza suspects that the police are not helping the
course of justice and is therefore seeking the
intervention of the IGP.

Narrating the circumstances under which the kid
was murdered, he stated that on that fateful day,
his son, upon his return from school, was called
by a certain Saadu Sabitu, one of the suspects
being held, and was deceived his father wanted to
see him.

The child did not return and at about 8pm, Hamza
said he received a call that his son was missing.
On the next day, a certain "Zuberu, aka Holy
Devil, came home from Accra and asked for details
about the missing child."

Zuberu called Abdul Wahab who confirmed that Saadu
Sabitu brought the deceased to his house and that
he even gave him money for the return trip home.

Abdul Wahab and Zuberu went to the house of Saadu
Sabitu to confront him but he said the kid was the
son of his master (a steel bender).
Upon further interrogation, he went to show them
the crime scene where the blood of the deceased
was drawn and the body severed into three pieces.

"He showed us the room where they (Saadu Sabitu
andAIi Sabitu performcd the rituals," he added.

The Winneba District Police, he stated, arrested
Saadu Sabitu while his brother Ali Sabitu escaped
to Mankessim but was traced and picked up.

The car used in the crime was impounded and when
it was searched, telltale items like a machete and
knives were found.

The deceased's father is apprehensive of the
conduct of the police and fears that they are not
supportive of the judicial system, explaining that
one "Detective Mathew is refusing to send the
right exhibits to the court."

Hamza stated further in the petition that he went
to see the detective to find out why he did not
send the appropriate exhibits to the court since
especially the doctor said a small knife he sent
to court could not have cut the spinal cord of the
deceased.

The detective then became furious and told Hamza
he could not teach him how to do his job.

The deceased’s dad noted that the Winneba Police
Commander intervened by asking that the matter be
kept out of the media.

But he added that the delay in releasing results
of the blood sample of the deceased to determine
its compatibility with the one on the fabric used
for the ritual was also making him edgy and
suspicious.
An attempt to offer a bribe of GH¢2000 by a cop
along the justice chain to kill the case was
turned down and the defaulter arrested, he told
DAIL Y GUIDE. .

"I wish to state the private car used in the crime
has been re-sprayed into a taxi. I am appealing to
your good office to assist me in the matter so
that all involved will be brought to justice," he
prayed.

Saadu, he explained, is the spiritualist who
demanded for human blood to undertake a spiritual
exercise which led to the murder of the little
boy.

Outside the petition, the bereaved father recalled
how he suffered an earlier plight when a certain
Ibrahim, a 9-year-old boy living with him went
missing, only to be found dead in a garbage dump
after a downpour.

Source - Daily Guide

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