The Ogun State Police Command said it has arrested a 30-year-old housewife, Shukurat Olufowobi, a resident of Oshodi Oke area of Ogijo, for allegedly beating her five-year-old stepson, Azeem Olufowobi, to death.
According to a statement by the spokesman of the Command, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the suspect was arrested following information received from members of the public who told police at Ogijo Division that the deceased boy was beaten with an object on his head, which gave him a skull injury that eventually resulted to the death
“Information further revealed that the woman and her husband hurriedly took the corpse of the victim to Ajah in Lagos state where he was secretly buried,” Oyeyemi said.
He added: “Upon getting the information, the Divisional Police Officer, Ogijo Division, Chief Superintendent of Police Suleman Baba Muhammed, quickly mobilized his detectives to the scene, where the couple who had started packing their belongings in a bid to run away from the area, was promptly arrested.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the woman has been maltreating the victim whose mother has been separated from the father due to unreconcilable differences.
“The nurse who gave the victim first aid treatment had informed the couple of her observation and was pleaded with by the woman and her friend to lie about the cause of the death of the victim but she refused because it is against the ethics of her profession.
“The couple Ayuba Olufowobi and Shukurat Olufowobi are currently undergoing interrogation at the Ogijo divisional headquarters where they are helping the police in their investigation.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of the Command, Kenneth Ebrimson, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation and prosecution.
