Minor allegedly kills guardian after failed attempts in Kwara

Police in Kwara State have arrested a 15-year-old boy, Gobri Yusuf, for allegedly killing his guardian, identified as Mrs Akanbi, in Ilorin. The victim, said to be the elder sister of the suspect’s late mother, was reportedly attacked and killed in her residence. Police said the teenager, who lived with the deceased, allegedly assaulted her […]

Police in Kwara State have arrested a 15-year-old boy, Gobri Yusuf, for allegedly killing his guardian, identified as Mrs Akanbi, in Ilorin.

The victim, said to be the elder sister of the suspect’s late mother, was reportedly attacked and killed in her residence.

Police said the teenager, who lived with the deceased, allegedly assaulted her with household items including a frying pan, a weighing scale, a spatula and kitchen knives.

Confirming the incident on Friday in Ilorin, the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, described the case as tragic and disturbing, noting that he personally interrogated the suspect during the investigation.

According to him, preliminary findings indicated that the boy had earlier made two unsuccessful attempts to poison the deceased by allegedly putting insecticide, commonly known as “sniper,” in her soup and watermelon.

“The suspect had earlier attempted to poison the deceased on two occasions by putting insecticide in her soup and watermelon, but the attempts failed,” the commissioner said.

Ojo added that the suspect initially claimed another person was involved in the attack but later confessed to carrying it out alone.

The police chief explained that shortly before the incident, the deceased had sent the boy on an errand to buy petrol and other items.

He said the suspect returned with the petrol, poured it into the electricity generator and switched it on while the woman was bathing, apparently to create noise that could mask the attack.

Investigations revealed that the teenager allegedly hid behind a door and attacked the woman with household items.

“At that moment, she reportedly said in Yoruba, ‘Iwo ko lo ye ki o pa mi o,’ meaning ‘You are not the one who should have killed me,’” Ojo said.

Police said the suspect later changed his clothes and left the house under the pretext of completing an errand. He reportedly contacted the deceased’s husband, who returned home and found her lying in a pool of blood.

The commissioner said the suspect admitted during interrogation that he acted out of resentment, claiming the woman often scolded him for his behaviour.

He added that police received a distress report about the incident on January 14 at about 8:30 p.m., after which officers commenced an investigation.

The suspect remains in custody and will be charged to court after the investigation is concluded.