A 13-year old boy, Jemimah Reuben, has been stabbed to death with fragments of a broken bottle in Adamawa state.
The alleged killers Barnabas Peter, 21, and Augustine Anthony, 23 have been arraigned before, a High Court presided over by Justice Ishaku Yakubu Haliru, for armed robbery and culpable homicide punishable with death.
Both Barnabas and Augustine, who hail from Badarisa in Girei Local Government Area, were arraigned before the trial court for allegedly killing Jemimah Reuben and robbing her of the sum N37, 000.
In their criminal act, Barnabas allegedly stabbed the late Jemimah with a piece of the broken bottle in the neck and mangled her to death with heavy sticks and there after took away her POS machine and hand bag.
Barnabas, was said to have informed Augustine, about his effort to raise money either by hook or crook to replace the one he had stolen at their family compound.
In order to raise money for that purpose, both defendants conspired to go and rob a female POS operator known as Zippora Zaro, of the same address on the 10th October, 2020 after she was drugged to sleep.
On that fateful day, Augustine gave Barnabas, hard drugs where he grinded same and mixed it with chocolate and proceeded to Zippora’s POS shop to perpetrate their crime.
On his arrival at the shop, Barnabas allegedly met late Jemimah, daughter of the shop owner, who informed him that Zippora, had requested her to stay in the shop and left for home due to stomach pain as a result of menstrual circle.
They both asked the little girl to withdrew N1,000 for them, as she was trying to insert ATM card in the machine, Barnabas grabbed her neck, dragged her, and that in the process, the girl removed his mask and recognised him
Barnabas then allegedly picked a piece of a broken bottle and stabbed her on the neck as well as hitting her with a stick severally, leaving her in a pool of blood and then took away her bag, POS machine and fled the scene to hide in an uncompleted building.
The presiding judge, Hon. Justice Ishaku, adjourned the case to the 5th and 6th October, 2022 for continuation of hearing and ordered that the defendants be reminded at custodial center.
