Minna – A six-year-old boy  simply identified  as Dan-Haru was on Saturday afternoon  beheaded by a suspected ritualist  in Chanchaga, a suburb of  Minna, the Niger capital.

The headless corpse was dumped in a well.

It was  gathered that the victim  was left  at home with his four-year-old brother by their parents who were petty traders  at Kasuwa dari, a popular night market.

The younger brother was said to have escaped from the assailant during the attack and reported the incident to their father who was selling kolanuts at the market.

Eyewitnesses, however,  said the late response by the father led to the escape of the assailant  after killing the victim.

The mother of the deceased discovered his clothes inside the well and raised an  alarm which attracted the father and sympathisers.

The Police Public Relation Officer of  Niger Command, Mr Richard Oguche,  confirmed the incident, pointing out that the Force  had commenced  investigation into the incident.

He said the assailant might have used a block moulding engine found with blood stain at the house to smash the head of the deceased.

Oguche said the police had not made any arrest in connection with the incident while the corpse had been released for burial. (NAN)