Police arrest father over sudden death of son in Anambra

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a suspect named Alfred Bassey for alleged lack of care and negligence that led to the sudden death of his seven-year-old son.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Friday in Onitsha.

According to him, the arrest was in connection with an ongoing investigation of a reported case of the sudden death of a seven-year-old child at a construction site along Trans-Nkisi Layout in Onitsha.

He said police operatives attached to the 3-3 Divisional Headquarters on Friday by 9:30 am arrested the 40-year-old suspect who is a native of Abi in Cross River State.

“Preliminary investigation reveals that the father of the victim forcibly took the minor from the mother and has been living with him in an uncompleted building at Trans-Nkisi Layout Onitsha.

“Furthermore, on December 11, 2024, the lifeless body of the child was found in a soakaway pit dug in the abandoned uncompleted building after the suspect left the child for an unknown destination.

“The body of the child was later recovered and taken to the hospital before he was confirmed dead by a doctor,” he said.

SP Ikenga stressed that Commissioner of Police Nnaghe Itam directed the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Awka, for a more detailed investigation.