The quest of a 40-year-old vulcaniser, Oderinde Sunday, to be rich through money ritual ended tragically for him, as the herbalist he consulted allegedly killed him and dumped his body on the road side after collecting N400,000 from him in Osogbo, Osun State.
But the suspected killer, 34-year-old Saheed Adekunle, resident in 24 Alaperin street, Sabo area, Osogbo, had no hiding place, as the Osun State Police Command uncovered the tracks he thought he had perfectly covered and arrested him.
According to information gathered by Saturday Tribune, the police’s attention was drawn to a ‘Ghana-must-go’ bag dumped on a street on Wednesday, March 8. On opening the bag, an unidentified man was found dead and squeezed inside.
On March 9, a man, discovered to be a brother to Sunday, reported at a police station that his brother had been killed by Adekunle, prompting the police to go after the suspect.
Saturday Tribune learnt that the deceased had approached Adekunle, a tailor and herbs seller, to help him prepare a charm that would make him wealthy.
To achieve his goal, the deceased reportedly sold his piece of land with an uncompleted building on it for N400,000, which he gave to Adekunle to prepare the said charm. But Adekunle was said to have reneged on his promise, which resulted in a fight between him and the deceased. In the ensuing fight, Adekunle allegedly picked up a big stone while the deceased had his back turned to him, and smashed it on his head. Not done with his bleeding client, the suspect was said to have taken a cable, with which he strangled Sunday until life was snuffed out of him.
It was after that that he was said to have put Sunday’s remains in a big bag and dumped it on Ibokun Road at OSBC area of the town.
Though Adekunle’s neighbours suspected a foul play when they saw him riding away with a bag dripping blood, their efforts to make him disclose the content on his return failed, as he insisted that the bag contained the remains of an animal he used for sacrifice. Though they descended on him and almost lynched him, he refused to confess his deed, until he was arrested by the police, Saturday Tribune learnt.
In an interview with Saturday Tribune after his arrest, the suspect confessed that he killed the vulcaniser, saying that his action was to stop him from continuing to ask for his money that he collected.
“I prepare herbal concoctions and I travel to states to sell to clients. I learnt tailoring as a vocation.
“A vulcaniser, Sunday, came to me in December 2016 and told me that he wanted me to help him do charm to make him wealthy. I advised him to do something that would boost his business, but he insisted on money-making charm. So I told him that there was no problem, asking him to bring money to carry out the process. I didn’t know how to do such a charm; I only wanted to deceive him.
“Sunday told me that he had a piece of land that he would sell. After he sold the land, he brought N400,000 to me on Monday, March 6 and also came with someone, insisting that I signed a paper to indicate that I collected money from him.
“Two days after, on Wednesday, March 8, Sunday picked a quarrel with me that I had not prepared the charm. I said I would give him a charm to boost his business, but he did not agree. By then, I had already spent part of the money.
“We started fighting and I stepped outside my room, picked a heavy stone and hit Sunday on the head with it. He was backing me so he didn’t see me with the stone. He fell down, covered in his blood. I picked a wire and strangled him on the neck, after which I put his body in a big ‘Ghana-must-go’ bag that I had at home.
“I went to borrow a motorcycle from a neighbour on the pretext that I wanted to go out with it. I dragged the bag out and sought the assistance of a passerby to put it on the motorcycle because it was heavy. I tied the bag to the bike with a rope and took it to the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) Road where I dropped it at about 10.30a.m.
“I returned the bike to the owner and went to barb my hair. Unknown to me, some people noticed blood dripping from the bag when I was going with it and had gone round the neighbourhood, discussing it.
“As I returned from barber’s shop, a huge mob which had gathered descended on me, beating me and asking about what I put in the bag. I told them it was an animal I used to make sacrifice, but they didn’t listen to me. They forcefully broke my door and demanded to know what I kept in the room. They were about setting me ablaze when I was rescued by officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
“I was taken to the civil defence office, but was released to my father because of the level of injury inflicted on me by the mob. The officials asked him (my father) to bring me back the following Monday after I must have been treated. My father asked me severally to tell him what was in the bag, but I told him it was an animal.
“On Friday, March 10, policemen from Oke Bale Police Station came to my father and asked him to bring me to the station. When we got there, they started interrogating me and I confessed that I was the one who killed Sunday. The police had earlier recovered the body in the bag and had deposited it in the mortuary.
“It was after my arrest that I realised the gravity of my action. I have never done such a thing in my life. I believe it was the devil that used me. I know what I did was bad but I want to plead with the government to forgive me. I will never do such a thing again. My father started raining abuses on me when I confessed that it was actually a human I killed and put his body in a bag.”
When contacted, the Osun State Police Public Relations Officer confirmed the story, saying that the state Commissioner of Police, Olafimihan Adeoye, had directed that the suspect be transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Osogbo, for further investigations.
Meanwhile, Saturday Tribune learnt that the suspect had been arraigned in a Magistrates’ Court in Osogbo for allegedly killing Sunday.
A police prosecutor, Mr Duro Adekunle, had told the court that the crime was committed at Sabo area of the Osun State capital.
The prosecutor spoke further that Adekunle killed the deceased by smashing his head with a big stone, after which he strangulated, him until he was sure he was dead.
The offence, according to the prosecutor, was contrary to Section 316 (1) and punishable under Section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Volume 11, Law of Osun State of Nigeria 2002.
It was learnt that the plea of the accused was not taken and that, and the magistrate, Mrs Adenike Olowolagba, ordered Adekunle to be remanded in Ilesa prison, while she adjourned the case
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