The Nigerian Police in Niger State have detained a 10-year-old boy, Rakia Aliu, on suspicion of stealing maize in the Kontagora area.
According to reports, Ibrahim Sani allegedly stole around nine “mudu” of maize from a grinding shop and sold it to another person. He was then apprehended and handed over to local vigilante groups. The police claimed they detained the boy because the buyer needed to be questioned.
Rakia, the boy’s mother, told The Punch that a police officer appeared during the investigation, arrested her son, and detained him overnight. “He went to the police station around 6pm on Wednesday,” she said. “They took him away and locked him in the cell till the following morning.”
She added, “Now they want to see the man who bought the maize from the boy at the police station. The boy is still being detained until they find the man. But the man doesn’t live here in Kontagora, and the boy has been held since Wednesday.”
The Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Alabi, confirmed the incident and ongoing investigations to apprehend the buyer. However, he emphasized that the boy was not formally detained but assisting with the investigation.
“It’s not always detention,” Alabi explained. “Sometimes, we offer protective custody. What if the boy is being kept with the police for his own safety? He wouldn’t be in the same cell as criminals. Not everyone in a police station is formally arrested or detained with criminals.”
He further clarified, “The boy is helping the police find the buyer. We have juvenile offenders, and although the boy committed an offense, we treat them differently.”
Alabi concluded by mentioning the ongoing investigation at the Kontagora Area Command and efforts to apprehend the buyer, whom the boy confessed to selling the maize to.
