The police also recovered the skull of Akinde, who had been abducted by the suspects and taken to an herbalist’s house for ritual purposes, before they were eventually slaughtered at a shrine.
The Ogun State Police Command has arrested five suspected land grabbers who are involved in the abduction and murder of a housewife, Memunat Akinde and an okada rider (commercial motorcyclist), Ibikunle Ajose, in Idoleyin community in the Ado Ota area of the state.
The police also recovered the skull of Akinde, who had been abducted by the suspects and taken to an herbalist’s house for ritual purposes, before they were eventually slaughtered at a shrine.
According to the police, the suspects: Okediran Monsuru, Ajaoba Monday, Akewusola Wajud, Nupo Pona and Dasu Sunday are all in custody while a serious manhunt has been launched for their fleeing principal and land grabber, simply known as Lebo.
A press release by the state police command’s spokesperson, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the sudden disappearance of the 45-year-old housewife, Akinde, and the motorcyclist with her, Ajose, made her husband report the matter to the police.
The police said, “The duo went missing on October 1, 2020, when the woman, who was a fish seller, left her house at Idoleyin area for a nearby market purposely to buy fish and she contacted a motorcyclist to take her to the said market. But surprisingly, both of them never returned home since then
“This prompted the woman’s husband to lodge a complaint at the police station. The case was later transferred to the Anti-kidnapping unit of the state Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department.
“The team started investigation and their efforts paid off when one of the suspects, Okediran Monsuru, was traced to Badagry and apprehended. His arrest led to the arrest of three others namely Ajaoba Monday, Akewusola Wajud and Nupo Pona.
“The four of them confessed that they were working for a notorious land grabber who they simply identified as Lebo. They stated that they accosted the two victims along the road at Abisoye village where they abducted and took them to an uncompleted building in a bushy area, tied their hands and legs and later called their principal on the phone to inform him that they had succeeded in getting two victims.”
The police said the suspects confessed further that when the said Lebo came, he ordered them to slaughter the two victims.
“Having killed them, the fifth suspect, Dasu Sunday, who is an herbalist, was called to come, and on his arrival, they cut the two victims into pieces and put their parts in a sack brought by the herbalist who took the parts away for a money-making ritual.
“The head of the woman was recovered at the herbalist’s shrine. The five suspects are all in police custody while a serious manhunt has been launched for their fleeing principal. The Commissioner of Police has directed that the arrested suspects be charged to court without further delay while the remaining ones are to be hunted and fished out.”