A 30-year-old man has been detained by the police in Enugu State for the alleged murder of his neighbour’s four-year-old daughter while she was sleeping.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Enugu State Police spokesman, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, on Tuesday.

”On August 18, police operatives serving in the command’s Anti-Cultism Tactical Squad hastened to a compound on Orba Road in Nsukka Local Government Area, upon receiving a distress call alleging the murder of a four-year-old girl.

”The lifeless body of the child was taken to the hospital, she was confirmed dead by a doctor and her remains have been deposited in the mortuary,” he said.

The spokesman further said that the knife used by the suspect to commit the crime, quantities of weeds suspected to be hemp, and an object suspected to be a charm were recovered from him.

He added, ”Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect hails from Umuagu-Ozalla in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State but resides in the compound with the child’s parents and others.

”He used the knife to slit her throat. The mother of the child had run out to take the other children to safety before coming back for the victim.

“The suspect confessed to the crime, claiming that he acted alone but under the influence of hemp, methamphetamine (locally known as “Mkpuru-mmiri”), and Action Bitters alcoholic drink he consumed earlier.”

Ndukwe said that the suspect also confessed to being a member of the Vikings Confraternity and that in 2022 while residing in Jos, Plateau, he was involved in a cult clash during which he murdered a male member of the rival cult group.

He noted that the suspect would be arraigned and prosecuted once investigations were concluded.

“The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Kanayo Uzuegbu, has described the act as barbaric and unthinkable.

“The commissioner also urged the citizenry too, as much as possible, be conversant with the behavioural patterns of their neighbours to avert senseless incidents of this nature,” he added.