Police arrest four suspects for beating to death alleged watermelon thief in Bauchi
By Harrison Willie
The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested four suspects who allegedly tortured a young man, Ibrahim Hashimu, to death after accusing him of stealing N2000 worth of watermelon in Dallaji Village, Warji LGA of the state.
The command’s image maker, Ahmed Wakil, in a statement released on Friday, April 7, gave the names of the suspects as Mohammad Daluta, 24; Ibrahim Mahmud, 22; Bashir Mahmud, 18; and Abdullahi Mahmud, 22.
He said the suspects were arrested on March 29, 2023 after one Ado Sanya, 40, reported at Warji Divisional Police Headquarters that on the same date at about 1.20am, one Ibrahim Hashimu, male, criminally trespassed into the farmland of one Mohammed Garba, male, of the same address and stole some watermelons.
According to the statement, “On receiving the report, a team of detectives was quickly drafted to the scene and evacuated the victim to General Hospital Warji for medical attention where they referred to the Cottage Hospital, Gwaram LGA, Jigawa State, where he was certified dead by the medical doctor.
An investigation commenced in earnest and preliminary investigation revealed that the victim “Ibrahim Hashimu” trespassed into a summer farm and stole seven pieces of watermelon fruit valued at N2,000.
In the process of taking away the stolen items, the owner of the farm caught him on the spot. He then conspired with others and beat him with sticks. As a result, he sustained an internal injury which led to his death.
Consequently, all the above four suspects were successfully arrested and an investigation is still ongoing to explore all the intricacies surrounding the case.”
