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| Sunday, 2 February 2003 |
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UK police trace human sacrifice bones to Nigeria LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Minute traces of 500-million- year-old West African rock found in a boy's torso have provided a breakthrough in an investigation into a suspected ritual murder and human sacrifice, British police said on Friday. Scotland Yard said the tiny samples of rock discovered in the bones of the dismembered boy, found in London's Thames river in September 2001, proved he came from a small area of Nigeria. The case has drawn international attention, including an appeal by former South African President Nelson Mandela for his countrymen to help solve it. A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said British police had been combing West Africa searching for a match for traces of the ancient rock which they found in the bones of the boy they have named "Adam". They narrowed the search down to a specific part of south- west Nigeria, and were heading for that area to pursue their murder investigation, she said. "They will travel to the area, which is a 100 mile by 50 mile corridor between Benin City and Ibadan, in a matter of weeks," she said. The torso of the boy was found near London's Tower Bridge and he was thought to have been five to six years old. Detectives have been unable to discover his identity, despite extensive inquiries and a 50,000 pound ($82,300) reward. They have said they believe he may have been the victim of an African ritual killing or "muti" murder, in which victims are killed for body parts which are used by traditional healers. Detectives reached the conclusion he came from the particular part of Nigeria after taking samples from Adam's bones in which they found a type of West African rock more than 500 million years old. A Scotland Yard team travelled to Nigeria to pinpoint its origins. Mandela joined the appeal last April, when he urged people, especially in South Africa, to come forward with any information that could help police. |
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