Lagos — Kamilu Kamoru, a peasant farmer, had set out to harvest tubers of yam for his family on Saturday, February 6, 2010.

Armed with a Dane gun and a cutlass, he rode on his Suzuki motorcycle and had hardly settled down in his farmland situated at Afowowa, Isale Oyo, Oyo Town, Oyo State, when he sighted scores of guinea fowls feeding on his maize crops.

"Immediately, I sighted the birds, I was happy, hoping that I would kill one of them and ask my wife to prepare a fresh meal for the weekend. But I did not know the young boy was in the bush, excreting until I opened fire at the birds. I killed one of the fowls, but the pellet deflected jkm k.'and hit the young boy where he was. All I heard was a human voice, screaming for help, as a result of the gunshot wounds," offered the Togolese-born suspect.

The 32-year-old suspect, currently detained by homicide detectives attached to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Iyaganku, Ibadan, Oyo State Police Command, alleged evil men of being at work, insisting his action was not deliberate.

The suspect, who claimed to have lived in Oyo Town for well over ten years, and also married from the ancient city to a certain lady, Shukura, bared his mind on the genesis of his travails to Daily Independent.

"I hail from Kulumi, Sokode in Togo, but came to Oyo Town, Oyo State, Nigeria, in company of some relations about ten years ago. My parents are still in Togo. I am married to an Oyo Town lady and the marriage had produced two kids, while I lost one. I am a farmer by profession. At about 7a.m. on the fateful day, we had no food at home and my wife advised me to go quickly to our farmland and harvest yam tubers for the family. When I got to my hamlet, I saw my cousin who had already been there. Before I said anything he told me he had cut a stick to make a new hoe for the new planting season that was approaching. When he showed me the stick, it was too curved for what it was meant for. So, I had to discard the stick, promising to cut a new one. As I made for the yam plantation on my motorcycle, I sighted the birds, already invading my maize crops, but when they felt my presence in the area they flew away to another farmland nearby. And I stealthily parked my motorcycle, pulled out my Dane gun and shot at them. It was in that process, the young boy was killed," narrated the suspect.

Adisa Bolanta, Oyo State Police Commissioner, told our reporter that the victim, Alphonsus, was in company of his father, Johnbull Amos and siblings, working on their farmland, close to that of the suspect.

The CP disclosed that Alphonsus left their farmland, with the consent of his father to excrete at a nearby bush only for the father to hear a gunshot in the direction of where his son had entered.

The scream of the young boy, it was learnt, attracted the attention of the father who had to race down to the scene and found his son in a pool of blood, already dead.

It was gathered that the father made spirited efforts to revive his son, but the latter had given up the ghost.

On how he was arrested, the suspect stated, "The only bird I killed I could not pick it, because I was confused at what had happened. I headed home to report myself to my guardian fondly called 'Baba Loruko Jesu' in the community. And from there, I was advised to also report at a nearby police station in the area. Before I got to the police station, my guardian had called the detectives at Ojongbodu headquarters, Oyo, and he was advised to tell me to report at Atiba Station instead of coming to their station. I had returned to 'Baba Loruko Jesu' and the father of the slain boy met me there. He and his other relations took me to Atiba Police Station and it was there I was detained before I was subsequently, whisked to this place (...referring to SCID, Iyaganku, Ibadan)," said the 32-year-old suspect.

However, detectives handling the matter hinted that the postmortem examination carried on Alphonsus at State Hospital's mortuary, Oyo, revealed that the boy died as a result of gunshot wound, while the corpse released to its parents had been interred on Sunday, February 7, 2010.

Bolanta added that investigation still continues into the matter, while the suspect would be arraigned in court as soon as the probe is concluded.