BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
Nigerians have decried the spate of ritual killings across the country as stakeholders have attributed the ugly trend to degradation of values, especially among younger generations.
Several cases of killings for ritual money have been reported on the media among youths, especially.
The killing of a girl identified as Rofiat by her boyfriend and three others at Oke Aregba Area of Abeokuta, Ogun State recently further elicited condemnation of the ugly trend of ritual money.
Luck recently ran out on the alleged teenage killers of Rofiat when a local community guard, Segun Adewusi, sighted their activities and reported them to the police at Adatan. The police arrested 17-year-old Wariz Oladeinde, 19-year-old Abdulgafar, 20-year-old Lukman and Mustakeem, all residents of Abeokuta.
Soliu, Rofiat’s boyfriend who initially absconded, was later arrested by the police.
The deceased’s ex-boyfriend confessed to having given Rofiat’s number to his friend. “When he called her in the morning, she visited us at night and we made love to her before we slaughtered her, and started cooking her head in the pot,” Soliu Majekodunmi, the boyfriend of Rofiat said.
According to the Ogun Police Command spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, the boys have all confessed to the crime, claiming they planned to use the burnt human head for a money ritual.
A magistrates’ court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Thursday, ordered the remand of the four teenagers over the murder of Sofiat Okeowo.
The police had arraigned them on a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder.
The prosecutor, Lawrence Balogun, told the court that the defendants committed the offence on January 28, at Kugba area of Abeokuta.
Balogun said the defendants conspired among themselves and murdered Sofiat Okeowo who was a girlfriend to Soliudeen.
He said the defendants killed her by cutting off her head with a cutlass with the plan to use the head for a money ritual.
The Magistrate, I. O Abudu, did not take the plea of the defendants and ordered that they should be remanded in prison pending legal advice from the Ogun State Director of Public Prosecution and adjourned the case to March 14.
In the wake of the heinous incident and other cases of fast wealth, Nigerians who could not hide their disdain for the teenagers’ actions took to social media to express their worries.
Many recalled their goals at age 17, questioning why Nigerian teenagers were overwhelmed by the get-rich-quick syndrome.
