Police arrest seven ritual killers in Abeokuta

By Our Correspondent

Seven members of a serial ritual killer syndicate have been apprehended in different parts of Abeokuta metropolis by men of Ogun state police command. 

The suspects; Lekan Oladipupo m' 38 years of Sotan village, Sulaiman Aremu m' 30yrs of Imala Elega Abeokuta, Ifayemi Madru m' 24 years of Sotan village,  Shittu Saheed m' 38 years of Alarugbo village, Samod Sulaiman m' 35 years of Sotan village, Akanji Moruf m' 23 years of Alabata village and Tajudeen Adekunle m' 36 years of Sapon Abeokuta, were arrested following a report lodged at Bode Olude divisional headquarters by one Abraham Okosun, who reported that he visited his brother one Sunday Okosun at Agbara village via Mawuko Abeokuta, only to discover that his brother has been brutally murdered by unknown person(s), and his remains had been dismembered. 

Upon the report, the Dpo Bode Olude division DSP Durojaye Rotimi, who visited the scene with his crack detectives there and then embarked on intelligence based investigation to unravel those behind the dastardly act. 

Acting on a credible information, the detectives traced and apprehended Lekan Oladipupo, who on interrogation confessed been the actual person who shot and killed the deceased with his danegun. His confession led to the arrest of the other six suspects. 

On interrogation, each of the suspects narrated their respective roles in gruesome murder of the deceased and others who have been killed in similar circumstances. 

Lekan Oladipupo informed the police that his own role is to look for their victim, usually in the bush around mawuko area and shot such unfortunate person to death. 

He will then contact Sulaiman Aremu, who will butcher the corpse of the victim and remove vital parts to be distributed to their standby customers. 

The customers are; Ifayemi Badru who bought the heart, hands and other parts of the body, Shittu Saheed bought the head, Akanji Moruf bought the heart of another of their victims while Tajudeen Adekunle bought the head.

The suspects confessed to have killed not less than four persons in similar circumstances and that their bodies parts were used for money making ritual. 

They also informed the police that they have code names for each human part whenever they want to request for it from their butcher man. For example, they normally referred to human head as ball, the heart as transformer, while the hands is code named as fans.

The gun and cutlass they used for the dastardly act have been recovered. 

Meanwhile, the commissioner of police, CP Lanre Bankole, who described the incident as height of man inhumanity to man, has ordered that the suspects be transferred to homicide section of the state criminal investigation and intelligence department, for discreet investigation with the view to charge them to court as soon as possible.