Residents and passers-by in Iyana Ilogbo area of Ogun State were stunned on Saturday as men of the state Police Command uncovered a ritualists’ den in the area.
The den was located within an abandoned filling station, Ayokunnu, about 20 metres from the popular Iyana Ilogbo Bus Stop, along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
Policemen from Sango Division of the command, who acted on a tip off, swooped on the den around 7am only to discover a decomposing body of a male victim in the first open room in the base floor of the one-storeyed building.
It was not only the decomposing body, other victims’ shoes, clothes and caps, including a machete, were also found in the den.
Two suspects were arrested in the operation, which lasted for about 30 minutes.
The two suspected ritualists arrested were Babatunde Taofeek and Hammed Hassan. Two of their accomplices were said to be on the run.
By the time our correspondent arrived at the den, the police had evacuated the decomposing body and the items of other victims found in the den.
But the spot where the decaying body was evacuated oozed offensive odour.
The abandoned filling station is located at almost a lonely area, facing the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway. Many of the buildings bordering the den on the right were uncompleted, and on the left was an undeveloped parcel of land overgrown with bush.
Our correspondent observed that the bush was being cleared on Saturday, perhaps on the orders of the owner, because of the incident. Angry residents had destroyed the ceilings and water closets in the building, which had unused pipes in some of the rooms.
Many of the residents of the area did not want to talk to our correspondent about the incident.
Some of those who spoke gave two versions to the incident. A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ritualists had been operating in the place for sometime.
The resident said, “Their secret was leaked on Saturday when some people who were returning from a vigil saw them dragging some people inside the building and they quickly alerted some people who called the police.’’
Another resident who did not want to be named said that two lucky captives in the custody of the ritualists escaped from the building and it was in an attempt to recapture them that their activities became known.
An okada rider in the area who could not be identified said corpses often littered the Ilogbo and Ilepa end of the expressway.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the incident and the arrest of the suspects.
Adejobi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the incident happened at about 7am, and that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Sango Division and men of the Anti-Robbery Squad, immediately swung into action after a tip off on the activities of the suspected ritualists.
He said one Babatunde Taofeek and one Hammed Hassan were found in the building with a lifeless body of a man suspected to have been killed by the suspects.
Adejobi said, “Items recovered from the scene included a cutlass, clothes, shoes and caps, the suspects were at an abandoned filling station (Ayokunnu), at Iyana-Ilogbo.”
He said effort was ongoing to arrest the owner of the abandoned filling station, adding that the suspects were under interrogation.
Adejobi also said the state Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, had ordered that the case be transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Command, at Eleweran, Abeokuta for further investigation.
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