A 20-year-old man identified simply as Ridwan has allegedly killed his father, Ishau, for the purpose of ritual in Oshoku Village in Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Commander of the Ogun State Community, Social Orientation and Safety Corps, Soji Ganzallo, through the Director of Information and Public Relations, Moruf Yusuf, on Friday.
According to the statement, the suspect was arrested during a routine patrol of men of the So-Safe Corps at about 12 a.m. on Thursday when they heard a strange noise in a building which prompted them to verify what was happening which led to the discovery of the lifeless body of the victim.
The statement read, “At about 12:00hrs on Thursday, August 31, 2023, officers of the Corps on routine patrol heard a strange noise in a building while at Oshoku Village in Ijebu North Local Government Area.
“The Officers entered the building to confirm what was happening, but to the officers’ dismay, they found a man’s body lying lifeless in a pool of his own blood and the alleged killer fled the scene.”
With the commander’s instruction, the corps launched a manhunt on the alleged killer and he was nabbed in a bush where he was hiding.
The suspect confessed to killing his father for the purpose of the ritual.
“Ganzallo instructed the Zonal Commander, Ijebu Zonal Command, ACC Marcus Ayankoya, to get the suspected killer Ridwan arrested within 24hrs. The suspected killer was nabbed where he was hiding in a bush.
“He confessed to having killed his father, Ishau, with a rope tied to his neck and a knife used to remove the needed parts of his body for ritual purposes.
“The alleged killer told the officers of the corps that he only removed the private part, larynx, and just four teeth of his father as requested by a ritualist he identified as Baba Kekere.”
However, efforts made by the corps to get the details of the ritualist who instructed the suspect to get the body parts for rituals proved abortive as the suspect did not disclose the location of the ritualist.
He was therefore handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.
“Ganzallo further revealed that when he was asked about the whereabouts of the ritualist, he refused to give details.
“The alleged killer had been transferred to the Nigeria Police Force, Ogbere Divisional Headquarters for further investigation and likely prosecution,” the statement concluded.