Tragedy struck in Bauchi State as the police arrested a 17-year-old boy, identified as Auwal Dahiru, alongside five others, for allegedly plucking out the eyes of his seven-year-old sister for ritual purposes.
The shocking incident happened in Bayan Dutse, Wailo, Kubi Ward, Ganjuwa Local Government Area, throwing the community into deep grief and disbelief.
According to the Bauchi State Police Command, the teenage suspect conspired with his accomplices Mohammed Rabiu (19), Saleh Ibrahim (20), Nasiru Muhammad (Soro town), Hassan Garba (Soro town), and Garba Dahiru (43) to lure the innocent child into a nearby bush before carrying out the gruesome act.
Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Mohammed Ahmed Wakil, confirmed the arrests in a statement released to journalists on Monday in Bauchi.
He said, “On October 17, 2025, at about 18:00 hours, one Muhammad Adamu of Bayan Dutse Village, Wailo, reported that his daughter, seven-year-old Rukayya Muhammad, was attacked and her eyes were forcefully removed.”
Upon receiving the report, detectives led by CSP Aliyu Mohammad Goni, Divisional Police Officer of Soro Division, swiftly moved to the scene.
The suspects were immediately apprehended, and the young girl was rushed to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, for emergency treatment.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the victim, Rukayya Muhammad, was permanently blinded after her eyes were brutally removed by her brother in what police described as a suspected money ritual.
According to the girl’s father, his teenage son lured Rukayya, who shares the same parents with him, into the bush before attacking her.
A medical report from ATBUTH confirmed that the young girl had lost her eyesight completely and would never regain her vision.
During police interrogation, all six suspects reportedly confessed to the crime, while detectives continued investigations to uncover the full motive and any other accomplices involved.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Sani-Omolori Aliyu, has ordered that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.
He assured that all those responsible would face the full wrath of the law, describing the act as “barbaric, inhuman, and deeply disturbing.”
The incident has sparked widespread outrage across Bauchi and beyond, with residents calling for justice for the little girl.
Many condemned the rising cases of ritual killings and child abuse, demanding stronger security presence and public awareness campaigns to end the menace.