“It was my first time of doing such a thing. I am an Ogboni chief. I can’t just explain how it happened. It was as if we were attacked spiritually and made to misbehave. I used the head and legs of the deceased for a charm to draw clients to my temple, but it failed. Ifaseun kept other parts and gave them to people who needed them.”
These are the words of an Ogboni (cult) chief based in Ikirun, Osun State, Ifadare Afolabi.
He and his partner, Ifaseun Afolabi, also a herbalist have been arrested for the killing of 35-year-old man, Ayoade Fasesin, and using his body parts for ritual purposes.
Ifadare noted that the deceased was a client of Ifaseun.
He said he had approached the herbalist for money ritual, blamed his action on a strange spirit.
He was paraded in Osogbo by the Commissioner of Police, Wale Olokode on Saturday, Ifadare.
According to him, he used the victim’s head and legs for a charm to draw clients to his temple in Ikirun.
He, however, lamented that the charm did not work, as his temple did not see an influx of people as he expected.
He added: “I can’t explain why the charm did not work. I didn’t know the victim before we used him. I have never used any human part before. I just attempted it. I planned the killing with my friend, Ifaseun.”
The police commissioner, however, said more arrests had been made.
He said, “Upon the receipt of the report, police detectives from the anti-kidnapping unit swung into action and conducted a diligent intelligence-led investigation, which yielded result with the arrest of Ifaseun Afolabi. The suspect, who initially denied having knowledge of the whereabouts of the victim, but confirmed that he knew him, finally confessed to have conspired with two of his cohorts, Ifadare Afolabi and one Taiwo to kill the victim.
“They also confessed to have butchered and sold the heart to Adeleke Kabiru at the cost N15,000, while the head, leg and wrist were sold to Adeleke Kabiru, Oloyede Maruf, Oseni Mukaila and Badmus Sairu. In view of these facts, the investigation team took immediate action and succeeded in arresting all the suspects mentioned, except the said Taiwo, who is now at large.
“The principal suspect led detectives to the Fidibomi area of Ikirun, where the victim was killed, butchered and the remaining parts buried. The remains of the deceased were exhumed and taken to the UNIOSUN morgue for autopsy, where the mother of the victim identified the last clothes worn by her son.”
