Neighbours to Usman Inuwa who was caught with the corpse of a child in a suitcase in Maitama, Abuja have identified the dead child as Goodluck, his son. The shocked neighbours described the boy as very smart and wondered what came over Inuwa that made him to kill his child.

Inuwa, a welder, arrested with the corpse of the child in a suitcase last Saturday, is currently in police custody.

Our correspondent who visited Bwari where the suspect lived on Tuesday learnt that Inuwa’s wife left him about a month ago, following incessant quarrels between them.

The nursing mother was said to have packed out of their one- room apartment, whose veranda was fenced off with zinc. The building was located behind Zenith Bank, Bwari, about 45 km from Abuja city centre.

The room which was firmly locked with a padlock did not betray the nature of the heinous crime that was allegedly perpetrated inside it.

A fashion designer and immediate neighbour to the suspect said he was shocked to see Inuwa’s picture and the dead child on the Internet, noting that he saw Goodluck last Friday night around his shop.

“I was shocked to see Inuwa’s picture and the dead child; this was a boy I saw last Friday playing with other children in the afternoon and later in the night. Before now, Inuwa didn’t betray any suspicious behaviour except that he becomes aggressive anytime he is drunk and whenever he is high on Igbo (Indian hemp),” the neighbour who declined to give his name stated.

Another neighbour, Sam, described his pains when he heard that the welder murdered his son, describing the incident as appalling. He said for the few years he had known the suspect, he was always friendly.

“I can describe him as a friendly person, but he is antagonistic and hostile anytime he is drunk and everyone around here (neighbours) knew this and we don’t interact with him once we observe his change of mood. He also quarrels with his wife and the woman who is nursing a baby girl, left him about a month ago,” Sam said.

Daniel Okogie who claimed to have known Inuwa for about nine years stated that the suspect must have been under a spell to have killed his child, whom he said Inuwa took good care of.

He said, “We all know Inuwa and Goodluck and we are surprised that he would kill the boy. He took care of that boy and bought things for him; the child was to start school soon and now this tragedy happened.”

Asked if the police had visited the crime scene, Okogie and other respondents said they had yet to see them, pointing out that investigators would get clues that would assist them inside the apartment where he was believed to have murdered the child.

The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Doris England, had said that investigations had commenced into the incident.
Source: PUNCH