The lifeless body of a four-year-old missing child was, at the early hours of yesterday, found close to a shrine at Iwaya area of Lagos, with her throat slashed.

The toddler, Farida Ayomide Suleiman, who was suspected to have been used for ritual at the shrine, was last seen on Tuesday in the company of her siblings, going to a mosque around the area.

From the mosque, they were said to have gone to a family friend’s house.However, apprehension set in when Ayomide was discovered to have disappeared, a development that led to a search around the area. Hours later, an alarm raised by the girl’s mother alerted tenants of 28 Ogbe Close, who discovered the body of her missing daughter behind her window where the shrine is located.

Parents, 8 others arrested

Briefing journalists on the incident, Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Fatai Owoseni, who visited the scene, said 10 persons, including parents of the deceased toddler, are in Police custody. Owoseni said: “The DPO of Sabo Division alerted me at the early hours of this morning (yesterday) that a couple came to the station to say that their missing child’s body was found behind their window, near an Ogun shrine, with her throat slashed.

“I was at the scene till 4a.m. with detectives. We have recovered the corpse and also saw the tool with which she was murdered— a knife. “Ten persons, including parents of the deceased, have been taken into custody for interrogation.

We are not saying categorically that they killed the child; the shrine has been in the compound for years. “If there is no conspiracy of silence, the tenants would have known that sacrifices have been going on in the shrine. “The owner of the compound was worshipping in the shrine before he died. After his demise, we gathered that people used to come to worship at the shrine.”