A 14-year-old boy identified as Aondoakaa Yarkwan has been tortured for allegedly stealing funds from the Church.
Sources told WikkiTimes that the church officials at St.Joseph Parish in Korinya, Konshisha local government of Benue state had beaten the boy to coma when some money was missing after a priest gave his bag custody to the young Yarkwan during a church service.
According to a source familiar with the issue who preferred anonymity, Yarkwan was tortured by church officials and local quasi security personnel after being falsely accused of stealing more than N200,000 in church donations.
He said the young boy, who was tasked with securing the funds for the priests pending the end of the mass service, endured severe physical abuse before the true culprit a fellow altar boy was later identified.
“On the 8th of September 2024, At St.Joseph Parish in Korinya, Konshisha Local Government of Benue state, during a send-off ceremony for a seminarian who had just completed his Apostolic work. As part of the celebration, the congregation donated a large sum of money estimated to exceed N200,000. The money was handed to 14 years old Altar boy Aondoakaa Yarkwan, who was instructed to keep the money for the seminarian during the church service.
“However, the funds were discovered missing after the event, replaced with scraps of paper,” narrated the source.
The Missing Money
According to a Church official who was not authorised to speak to the press, Aondoakaa admits to taking N3,000 from the donation. “But insists he had no involvement in the disappearance of the rest. When the seminarian discovered the money was missing, he confronted the church officials, all fingers pointed to the young Altar boy who was instructed to keep the money for the priest.”
Yarkwan recounts experience
“I was interrogated and taken to the Parish Priest, Rev. Father Emmanuel Doki. When I explained what happened, he slapped me three times, demanding I confess. I told him I only took N3,000, but no one believed me.”
Yarkwan explained that Father Doki handed him over to the church chairman, Mr. Tartsegha, Catechist Kumbur, and Deacon Agber, who resorted to more violent measures.
He added that armed with koboko—(a whip made from dry cowskin)—the trio flogged the him insisting that he admit to stealing the entire sum.
“But the abuse didn’t end there,” he added.
According to him, he was taken to a Livestock Guards, a local quasi security unit tasked with maintaining order in the community.
He explained that the guards tortured him mercilessly with cable wires, tied him upside down, and threatened to burn him alive if he did not confess.
“They took me to a forest in Korinya called Golgotha where they normally burn thieves alive and put an old tire around my neck, threatening to kill me,” traumatised Yarkwan explained. “I kept telling them I didn’t know where the money was, but they didn’t believe me.”
After hours of torture, he said he lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital by his grandmother, who had been called to the scene.
A mother’s despair
According to the victim’s mother, Benedicta Yarkwan the result of the brutality on her son was enormous as she shared her pains with WikkiTimes over her son’s condition.
“My son is in so much pain, and the doctors say we need more money for his treatment,” she said tearfully. “A kind man in the hospital helped us with N50,000, but I don’t know how we will pay the rest of the bills.”
The mother also revealed that her son is now struggling to breathe properly, a result of the severe beating he endured. “Nobody from the church has apologized or even offered to help with his medical bills,” she added.
After torturing the innocent, the real culprit found
Few weeks after the brutal incident, the true thief was found to be a 12-year-old altar boy (name withheld) from the same parish. The boy confessed to taking the remaining money and spending most of it on toys and other items.
The church member who hinted at WikkiTimes said “only N10,000 was recovered.”
The source said despite this revelation, the church elders and traditional leaders after a meeting decided that Yarkwan’s family would still pay N80,000, while the family of the 12-year-old family would pay N70,000.
Call for Justice
Yarkwan’s mother described the decision as deeply unjust. “My son is still in pain. He can barely breathe, and yet they blamed him for what the 12 years old boy did. I don’t have 80,000 to give them as I’m just a poor Farmer” she lamented.
She appealed for justice on the brutality that led to the hospitalization of her child.
The livestock Guard’s Role
The livestock Guards initially established by the Benue state government in 2017 to enforce the state’s anti- open grazing law have been accused of overstepping their boundaries.
An officer from the Livestock Guards, who requested anonymity, confirmed that Yarkwan had been beaten before being handed over to them but denied claims of extreme treatment or taking him to the forest.
“We did interrogate him and flogged him but we did not threaten his life,” the officer stated. He also admitted that the Livestock Guards are not officially equipped to handle such cases, but explained that Korinya’s crime rate often overwhelms the local police.
“We were formed to maintain order because the town lacks adequate policing,” he said. “But this was a case we should not have handled.”
Outcry from the community
The case has generated outrage in Korinya, with many community members calling for justice for the victim.
Some community members argue that both the church officials and the Livestock Guards overstepped their bounds, subjecting the boy to unnecessary and extreme punishment on mere allegation.
As Yarkwan recovers, his family continues to struggle with mounting hospital bills and the looming financial penalty imposed by the church, said a member of the family.
Many residents call for investigation on abuse of vulnerable children in the community and those responsible should face consequences.
WikkiTimes efforts to speak with the concerned clerics and church officials were not successful as they said the right cleric to talk had left the parish since. They, however, could not provide his contact.
When WikkiTimes reached out to the police spokesperson in Benue, DSP Anene Sewuese Catherine after serval attempt to reach her via calls, she responded to a WhatsApp message saying, “We are not aware of this case.”
All efforts to get her to respond to the questions on whether the police will initiate investigation into the issue were not answered.
Pathetic