From Clement Adeyi, Osogbo
at Gbongan, a sleepy town in Ayedaade Local Government Area of Osun State, a ritualist’s den was unearthed recently. Decomposing human parts of different sizes, including three human heads, were discovered in a location in the heart of the town.
When the cpeople raised the alarm, it was suspected that an octogenarian prince identified was the sheep in wolves’ clothing perpetrating the crime.
Daily Sun gathered that the prince who has 11 children lived in Abeokuta in Ogun State, where he eked out a living as a baker. He usually came to Gbongan, once in a while unknown to the people that he is a ritualist. Whenever he was in Gbongan, he stayed alone in his four-room apartment in a dilapidated building at Esu’s Compound, turned to a ritualist den.
The den was discovered by members of his extended family who instantly alerted residents in the neighbourhood. When they rushed to the place, they met it securely locked but broke into it and discovered the suspect with rotten human parts. As soon as he realised that the police were being contacted, he took to his heels. He was, however, caught and handed over to the police.
He is expected to tell the story of the motive behind his criminal act as soon as the police are through with investigations and decide to parade him in the public.
Sources said the octogenarian sold human parts to his customers and partners in crime for different purposes.
How he got the parts? He used charms to cast spell on people that came in contact with him and hypnotized them. Then he lured the helpless victims into his den, tied their faces and slaughtered them.
But nemesis caught up with him when his activities were discovered. Since then, he has been cooling his heels at the Police Headquarters in Osogbo where he is helping the police with useful information about his dastardly act.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Osun State Command, Folasade Odoro, said investigations were ongoing after which the ritualist would be paraded and charged to court.
However, the Olufi of Gbongan, Oba Adetoyese Oyeniyi, noted that the discovery was strange. The monarch insisted that Gbongan was known to be a very calm and peaceful town where people of different tribes had been living together in harmony:
“I was surprised when I was informed that a man was caught with human parts in his residence and taken to the police station. I went there with my chiefs and confirmed it to be true.
“We want to totally let the traditional institutions, the good people of Gbongan, the chiefs and the entire citizens of this country know that Gbongan people are not ritualists.
“After all, despite that I am a monarch, I am a born again Christian. I profess Christ and and practise Christianity. So, I can not condone any ritual activity.
‘’We are appealing to all concerned, including the law enforcement agencies, that Gbongan has always been a peaceful town. Therefore, we want them to complete their investigations as quickly as possible and bring justice to bear.
“The people of the town have disowned him. They are the ones to determine what to do to him, not me. However, we are in democracy. Only the rule of law can take its course.
“But as far as I am concerned, the people of the town have disowned him.
Even, his family doesn’t want him to come back home again. They also want the town to demolish his house.”
Vice chairman, Gbongan Progressive Elements, Chief Saka Owopade, said: ‘’One thing the police should try to investigate is that we don’t always have incident of kidnapping in the town. Maybe, the suspect was using people from outside the town for his ritual business.”
He lamented that the uncomely incident had tarnished the image of the town to the extent that some Gbongan people living abroad had been calling home to confirm the incident.
Odewole Iyanda, Executive Secretary, Ayedaade LG, explained: “Immediately we reported the matter at the Gbongan Police Station, officers were detailed to mount surveillance at the den throughout the night till the following day.
They were able to arrest four suspects who claimed to know the ritualist. They, too, are now in police custody in Osogbo.
“Later, the community leaders called on sanitation officers who fumigated the whole environment to avert outbreak of epidemic due to the heavy decay of the human parts in the den.
“ The police evacuated the decomposing human parts and took them to Asubiaro Hospital, Osogbo, where the Commissioner of Police said they must be kept for a month, pending when they could be presented at the police station for further investigation.
“The community people are appealing to the police to do a proper investigation as urgently as possible to unravel the mystery behind the ritualist’s action and bring justice to bear in the matter.”