Man held in torso murder case

Police investigating the murder of a young boy whose torso was found floating in the River Thames today arrested a 37-year-old Nigerian man.

Scotland Yard said the man was held in Dublin in connection with the murder of the unidentified youngster who has been named Adam.

Adam is believed to have been aged between four and seven and was discovered in the Thames near Tower Bridge in September 2001.

Detectives fear the youngster was brought to London and killed as a human sacrifice.

Last week detectives said DNA tests developed to identify September 11 victims could help trace Adam's killer.

Bone fragments used in a potion the youngster swallowed shortly before he died in a suspected human sacrifice have been submitted to New York's medical examiner.

Police hope techniques used to distinguish the remains of some of the World Trade Centre victims will help them identify the witch doctor who

created the concoction.

The brew, found in the boy's lower gut, also contained quartz, clay pellets and very small samples of rough gold.

Pollen samples found in his stomach showed that he was alive when he arrived in London. It is believed he was murdered a few days later.

In March Metropolitan Police officers on the case travelled to Nigeria to chase up new vital leads after forensic evidence revealed Adam came from a specific region there.

It was revealed in January that Adam came from within a 100-mile by 50-mile corridor between Benin City and Ibadan.

Arsenal FC's Nigerian star Nwankwo Kanu made a televised appeal for information to help catch those responsible at the time.

Last April former South African leader Nelson Mandela also made an impassioned worldwide appeal for anyone with information about Adam to come forward.

But despite extensive inquiries, police have so far been unable to identify the boy.

A short memorial service was held at City Hall in London last September to celebrate the youngster's life.

Up to 30 police officers, scientists, pathologists and various experts involved in the case attended the service before laying a wreath about half a mile from where his torso was found.

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