Outrage continues to trail the death of a two-year-old girl in Bauchi State who was allegedly raped as the police are set to exhume her body for forensic investigation.
Ummi Salma was dumped in a Mosque in Newada, Ningi Local Government Area of the state, wrapped in clothes.
Two days later the police arrested four suspects, including the mother of the deceased.
Addressing journalists at the police headquarters while parading the suspects, Ahmed Wakili, the Public Relations Officer for the command, revealed that the body would be exhumed for forensic purposes to unravel the true cause of death.
The PPRO said that the issue of alleged rape was being thoroughly investigated hence the decision to exhume the body for forensic purposes.
He said forensics would establish the report of the Medical Doctor at the General Hospital in Ningi which confirmed there was rape.
The bereaved mother, Lauratu Saleh, and other suspects however denied the allegation of rape.
Saleh said the girl had taken ill and she took her to a chemist where she was administered drugs but eventually died the next day after treatment failed.
She said her late daughter only had blisters on her lips and a small wound on her ear.
She admitted giving birth to her daughter out of wedlock as she was pregnant by her boyfriend, Abubakar Usman, 23, a commercial motorcycle operator, who was also arrested by the police in connection with Ummi’s death.
Also arrested was a Community Health Worker who operated a medicine store where first aid was administered to Ummi when the mother took her there after she fell sick.
The elder brother of the mother who volunteered to take the dead girl to the father who failed to show up when his daughter was ill was also arrested by the police.
Usman while being interrogated by journalists said he was called by his ex-girlfriend that the baby was sick but could not attend to her because his wife was in labour.
He said his brother-in-law later brought her dead body, gave it to him and left.
Usman said he became confused as his family was unaware of his secret child delivered out of wedlock and decided to dumb her dead body in a mosque.
He denied that the girl was raped and insisted she died a natural death as he didn’t see any sign of abuse.
According to him, he regretted his actions and pleaded for forgiveness from all those affected by them, particularly his immediate family.
Aminu, the Community Health Worker (CHEW) who treated the late Ummi Salma said that he did that as a means of first aid to save her life considering the condition she was in when she was brought to his Chemist.
He said that he is a licensed Chemist having graduated from the College of Health Technology as a CHEW and decided to open his patent medicine store in the locality stressing that he has been treating people over the years without any complications.
Aminu added that he directed them to take her to the General Hospital Ningi as soon as possible but did not know the reason they decided to keep her at home leading to the death.
A medical doctor at the General confirmed Ummi dead with traces of blood from her vagina indicating forced penetration.
