A 7-year-old boy was allegedly sodomized by five men, including his uncle, in Nigeria, following which the accused were arrested.

The incident was reported to the Sokoto South local government division of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corp (NSCDC) on Monday, according to TVC News reported.

The NSCDC then took the men into custody, and paraded them for the alleged crime.

State Commandant of the Corp, Muhammad Saleh Dada, said all the suspects were adults and conspired among themselves to rape and sodomized the child. The accused have been identified as Nasiru Garba, Umar Aliyu, Mustapha Bara'u, Sai'du Dahiru and Rilwanu Usman.

"The saddest part of the incident is that his uncle is among those that sodomized the boy, and equally invited other friends to do the same on the underage boy at a nearby uncompleted building," Dada said, according to Voice of Nigeria, adding all the suspects were arrested when neighbors raised alarm over the crime.

During questioning, the men confessed to the crime.

Dada also said the uncle of the victim was the first to rape him. The uncle then called four other persons, who raped the boy. The incident damaged the child's "vital area" organ.

"Our investigation revealed that the uncle of the victim was the first suspect who raped the underage boy and thereafter invited four other persons," he said. "The command has obtained a court order to further detain the suspects to conclude the investigation on their matter before they will be charged to court."

Various non-governmental organizations, human rights and civil society organizations are helping the victim recover from the shocking tragedy.

The charges placed against the five accused have not been revealed. It also remains unclear where the child's parents were when the incident took place.

Last week, a 13-year-old boy in Pakistan was allegedly gang-raped by two men. The two accused escaped the scene after sodomizing the boy. The accused lured the boy on the pretext of giving him a bike. The accused then recorded the assault on camera and threatened the boy, India Today reported. Local police launched an investigation into the incident, and were searching for the two accused. The victim was admitted to a hospital, where he received treatment for his injuries. His current condition is unknown.

Representational image (teenage boy)
Representational image (Source: Pixabay / Bingodesigns)