The Police Command in Anambra has arrested one Alfred Bassey, 40, for alleged lack of care and negligence that led to the sudden death of his seven-year-old son.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Friday in Onitsha.

He explained that the arrest was in connection with an ongoing investigation of a reported case of the sudden death of a 7-year-old child at a construction site along Trans- Nkisi Layout in Onitsha.

According to him, the police operatives attached to the 3-3 Divisional Headquarters on Friday by 9.30 a.m. arrested one Alfred Bassey (M) aged 40 years and native of Abi in Cross River State.

“Preliminary investigation reveals that the father of the victim forcibly took the minor from the mother and has been living with him in an uncompleted building at Trans-Nkisi Layout Onitsha.

“Furthermore, on Dec. 11, 2024, the lifeless body of the child was found in a soakaway pit dug in the abandoned uncompleted building after the suspect left the child for an unknown destination.

“The body of the child was later recovered and taken to the hospital before he was confirmed dead by a doctor,” he said.

He stressed that the Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Itam, was saddened by the development.

Itam admonished parents to prioritise the well-being of their children against any difference they may have had with their spouses to avoid exposing them to emotional and psychological trauma or death.

He further directed the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Awka, for a more detailed investigation.