Viewers’ discretion: Gory details of 14-year old Haafizul-Qur’an’s murder in Ikorodu

…AbdulQudus’ eyes, tongue, private parts removed

Tragedy struck at an Ikorodu community over the weekend, after the body of a 14-year-old boy, AbdulQudus Anifowose was found with his eyes, tongue, breast and private parts missing.

The teenager’s decomposing body was found three days after he went missing in the Igbogbo area of Ikorodu, Lagos.

It was gathered that AbdulQudus, an Haafiz (memoriser of the Noble Qur’an) went missing on Monday evening while playing with some of his mates in front of their house.

The SS1 student of Icon Primary and Secondary School was alleged to have been murdered in an uncompleted building where his slippers were seen.

The said uncompleted building is located three compounds away from his parents’ house.

It was learnt that all through that Monday, a private caller kept calling AbdulQudus, such that his teacher seized his phone while in school and only returned it to him when he was returning home.

The boy’s father Alhaji Taofeek Anifowoshe accused 17-year-old Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) undergraduate Daniel Ameh of killing his son.

Anifowoshe told The Nation that all those with AbdulQudus the day he went missing confirmed he was last seen with Ameh who placed his hands by the boy’s shoulders as they walked away around 7pm.

He said, “My son was found dead in an uncompleted building around 2pm on Friday, October 18. They poured chemical on him, removed his eyes, tongue, breasts and private parts.

“He went missing on Monday night and all the children with him said he was last seen with Daniel. We searched for him all through that Monday night but we did not see him.

“When we started looking for him, it was Daniel’s grandmother that went to ring the church bell and was announcing that my son had gone missing.

“But the surprising thing to us is that blood stains were seen on the curtains of Daniel’s grandmother’s house and on the fence from where AbdulQudus was thrown to the other side.

“We believe that he was killed inside that room and then, they dumped his body through the fence to the other side.

“The police from State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence (SCIID) came here today (Tuesday) and they saw everything. They saw the stains on the fence and also saw the blood on the clothes in the grandma’s house.

“The other children said Daniel wanted to initiate AbdulQudus into something. They talk about gay and cult but AbdulQudus refused. All I want is for the police to investigate this issue properly and do justice. I do not want anyone responsible for my son’s death to go unpunished.”

Sources at the SCIID Panti told our correspondent that Daniel denied killing the teenager, adding that he admitted to have been with him that Monday evening.

It was gathered that the suspect told detectives he was with Kudus because he had pleaded with him to share some videos with him.

“He denied being gay and also said he was not a cultist. The boy said he was billed to return to school on Tuesday but stayed back because Kudus had gone missing the previous night.

“The suspect said he is friends with the deceased’s sister and that he went to their house that Monday to see her. He said he saw Kudus that evening playing with other kids and that it was another kid known as Jahun that took Kudus away while he was sending the video,” the source said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of SCIID Mrs. Yetunde Longe said investigation was ongoing.

She confirmed that homicide detectives had visited the crime scene, adding that the suspect was in their custody.

“The suspect is 17-year-old. The matter was transferred from Igbogbo Police Division. We want to establish who it was that called the boy all Monday.

“We want to know what exactly happened. Our officers will collect samples from the scene where the body was found. We want to ensure that we get the person or persons responsible for this crime and so, it will be too early to give details,” she said.

In a chat with Muslim News on Thursday, the victim’s Uncle, Mr Wasiu Anifowose, described his death as painful, saying the family will miss him.

He related how the late AbdulQudus finished the Qur’an at age 8, adding that, “It was even after his demise that his Arabic teacher was saying that his death was painful because
he had memorised the Qur’an”.

According to him, “My younger brother, AbdulQudus’ dad is the owner of the house they reside in Ikorodu, although we are from Epe. That’s where I base. In their house, he built a mosque and named it ‘Al-Sunnah Mosque’ and got a permanent Imam who is equally living with them”.

“The Imam is taking his children alone in Qur’an, Arabic and Islamic studies but the Muslims in the community pleaded with him to allow the Imam accommodate their children,  which he agreed to.

“That’s how other children joined the madrasah (arabic school) and so far, he has graduated three different sets and AbdulQudus graduated from the school at age 8 with his other siblings from the same parents.”

Mr AbdulWasiu said the late AbdulQudus was one of the Imam’s best students, stressing that, “the Imam would prepare AbdulQudus to lead the team for competitions because he had memorized the Quran.”

He said the Muslim community has been very supportive of the family since the demise of AbdulQudus.

“All the Muslim scholars and organisations in the community united and stood up against the calamity that befell the family. They gave their assurance and promised to follow the case to a logical conclusion. This is the first time I would be seeing the kind of cooperation among the Yoruba Muslims. They converged in the mosque for the special prayers. I am impressed and happy that he died as a Muslim,” he added.

– Additional information from The Nation