Police arrest 100-year-old woman, other for removing boy’s eye

Policemen in Kano have arrested a 100-year-old woman Furera Abubakar and one Isah Hassan for allegedly removing an eye of a 12 year old Mustapha Yunusa, for rituals.

Mustapha was lured to a hideout where he was held tight before Hassan forcefully carved out his eyeball with a sharp knife.

Hassan, the principal suspect, who wanted a charm that can make him disappear, had taken the eyeball to Furera, a supposed ritualist who pledged to make the charm.

“A report was received from a resident of the Quarters, that an unknown person took one Mustapha Yunusa, ‘m’, 12 years old to Rimin Hamza Quarters, Tarauni LGA, Kano State, used a sharp knife and removed his right eyeball and fled with it to an unknown destination,” police spokesman Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa said.

“The team immediately went to the scene and rushed the victim to Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital Kano, where a Medical doctor confirmed that the eyeball of the victim was forcefully removed using a sharp object, and the victim was admitted to the said Hospital.

“After an intelligence follow-up on the incidence, an arrest of the principal suspect, one Isah Hassan, ‘m’, aged 17 years old, was made. He was arrested on 29th March, 2022 from Dantsinke layin Rimin Hamza Quarters Tarauni LGA, Kano State, with the help of local vigilante of Sheka Quarters”.

Kiyawa said Hassan confessed to  the crime and that he was misled by one Sani Abdulrahman who directed him to the Abubakar.

“On investigation, the suspect confessed that he met his friend, Sani Abdulrahman, ‘m’, 16 years old, and asked him where he can get a charm that will make him be disappearing whenever he wanted.

“Sani directed him to his aged grandmother of 100 years old (as she claimed), one Furera Abubakar, ‘f’, of the same address. The principal suspect further said that he met Furera, and she instructed him to bring an eyeball of a human being to her so that he can prepare the charm for him.

Kiyawa said Hassan then lured Yunusa, a street beggar, to a nearby bush, tied his hands and forcefully used a sharp knife to remove his right eyeball.

“He took the eyeball to Furera and she told him to bring Five Hundred Naira (N500:00),” Kiyawa said.

“As he did not have the money, Furera told him to keep it in a safer place and bring it when he has the money. He kept it for three days, later he discovered that the eyeball has decayed, and he then threw it away. Furera was subsequently arrested.”

The Commissioner of Police in the state Sama’ila Shu’Abu Dikko has ordered that case should be transferred to the Command’s Criminal Investigation Department for discreet investigation while the suspect will be charged to court upon completion of the investigation.