Security guard arrested over alleged rape and killing of 11-year-old girl in Niger

A 26-year-old security guard, Godwin Dauda, has been arrested over the alleged rape and killing of an 11-year-old girl, Christabel Albert, whose body was discovered in a well within a church premises in Suleja, Niger State.

The suspect, who was attached to the Apostolic Church in Suleja, was reportedly arrested on September 23, 2026, around Kuje in the Federal Capital Territory, where he allegedly fled after the incident.

The Niger State Police Command spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the arrest, saying investigations were ongoing and the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Minna for prosecution.

According to the police, a missing person report was lodged on September 20 after the girl failed to return home following her departure to attend a relative’s birthday celebration on September 19.

Later that day, a pastor from the church reported that a body had been discovered inside a well on the church premises.

Police operatives, with the assistance of local government welfare staff, recovered the body and took it to General Hospital, Suleja, where it was identified as that of the missing girl.

The police said investigations linked the suspect to the incident after he reportedly fled the church premises.

Abiodun stated that during interrogation, the suspect allegedly confessed to luring the girl into his security room, sexually assaulting her and dumping her body in the well in an attempt to conceal the crime.

The police said investigations were continuing ahead of the suspect’s transfer for prosecution.