The girl, identified as Misturah Babatunde, was reportedly hawking soya beans, locally known as beske, for her stepmother when the money went missing. Police alleged that the child was beaten with an electrical wire and suffered burns during the incident.

The Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, disclosed the development while briefing journalists in Ilorin on Tuesday.

According to the command, the case came to light on September 30, 2026, after a concerned resident spotted the girl buying a solution from a chemist in the Idigba area of Adewole, Ilorin, at about 9.26pm.

The resident reportedly questioned why the child was outside at that time. During the conversation, the girl allegedly disclosed the abuse she had suffered over the missing money.

Police identified the suspects as Babatunde Mustapha, the girl’s biological father; Abdulrahman Aisat, her stepmother; and Bashirat Abdulfatai, their neighbour. The command said an electrical wire and a hot coal pot allegedly connected to the incident were recovered as exhibits.

The matter was reported to the police and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department on October 9 before being referred to the Anti-Human Trafficking, Women and Children Protection Unit for further investigation.

The police said all three suspects had been arraigned and remanded at the Oke-Kura Correctional Facility in Ilorin. The allegations are subject to the court process, and the suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

In a separate update, the command also reported arrests linked to other alleged offences, including the exhumation of graves, the recovery of suspected human remains, the killing of an elderly man and an alleged motorcycle theft syndicate.

The police did not provide further details of those separate cases in the account supplied for this report.

Reporting by TalkNaijaMedia