The Police at the Nasarawa Gwong Division in Plateau State are demanding a fee of N25,000 to investigate the gruesome murder of the teenage Comfort Benjamin last week Saturday, Mary, the elder sister of the deceased, has told FIJ.

According to Comfort’s family, the secondary school girl went missing from their house at Rock Haven in Jos East, Plateau State on the eve of her 16th birthday celebration scheduled for May 23.

After combing different locations, including police stations in Jos, for two days, the lifeless body of Comfort would later be found on Monday in faraway Nasarawa Gwong at the northern side of Jos.

The Police told the family that their daughter was found dead in the evening at St. Michaels area in Nasarawa Gwong and “from all indications, she was raped and strangled to death”.

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When the family insisted on seeking justice, Musa Hassan, the Divisional Police Officer, demanded for any available evidence at their disposal to help the police commence investigation.

“We were able to access her Facebook messages because she used to log in with my laptop,” said Mary.

“We saw suspicious messages of people promising to give her birthday gifts if she can come to pick them up.

“We printed all these chats and gave them to the police. We also gave them Comfort’s phone number to track her recent calls, only for the DPO to hand us over to a specialist who then asked us to bring N25,000 for the phone tracking.”

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Mary added that the family is yet to receive any information from the police since Wednesday that they submitted the evidence.

When FIJ contacted the DPO for comment, he tried to evade any question on paying for tracking.

“We are still working with the family on the investigation,” Hassan said.

“They have a principal suspect. I have told them to bring the picture but I am yet to see them since then.

“Meanwhile, we also need to track the girl’s mobile number. If there is anybody they know that can do the tracking and analysis, we will appreciate it.”

The news about missing Comfort and the eventual death has however sparked social media outrage, with many launching campaigns towards apprehending suspected killers under #JusticeforComfortBenjamin.

The agitation over Comfort’s death is similar to what was seen after the murder of Iniubong Umoren, a graduate of the University of Uyo in Akwa Ibom, who left home in search of a job.