Two brothers, aged between 15 and 19 years, have allegedly killed their 60-year-old father, Alhaji Dahiru Yusuf Maileather, in the Sarkin-Noma area of Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.
An eyewitness disclosed that the incident occurred over the weekend at approximately 8:30 a.m. when Dahiru Yusuf was stabbed to death by one of his sons.
The elder brother of the deceased, Alhaji Nuhu Muhammed Bala, confirmed the tragic event, stating that he was at his residence when a sister called him with the news. “When my sister called me, she said our brother had been killed by his son. I quickly ran to my brother’s residence, only to be told he had been moved to a hospital,” he recounted.
Bala added that the suspect has since been handed over to the police. He also mentioned that the suspect’s mother and her other two children have fled to an unknown location.
The Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP William Aya, confirmed the incident, stating that one of the suspects, identified as Abba Yusuf, has been arrested, while the second brother is still at large.
“It is a case of culpable homicide. On 05/10/2024, at about 21:00 hours, a distress call was received by the DPO ‘B’ Division Lokoja that one Alhaji Dahiru Yusuf ‘M’ of Sarkin Noma area had been murdered. Immediately, a DCO and team were dispatched to the scene, where the lifeless body of the deceased was found lying in a pool of his blood with multiple stab wounds all over his body,” Aya said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the deceased was stabbed by his two sons, Abba Yusuf and Aminu Yusuf, along with their divorced mother, Hajia Jummai, due to a prolonged domestic dispute. Further information revealed that both sons had reportedly robbed their father of millions of naira to purchase iPhones. Eyewitnesses testified that the deceased repeatedly called out “ABBA! ABBA!!” as a dying declaration before passing away at SHAFA Hospital, Lokoja.
Photographs of the crime scene have been taken, and the corpse has been deposited at the morgue for an autopsy before being released to the deceased’s relatives for burial according to Islamic rites. The exhibit knife and blood-stained clothes were also recovered at the scene.
Abba Yusuf has been arrested, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend the other fleeing suspects. The Commissioner of Police has ordered that the case be transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for a discreet investigation.
