After months of intensive man hunting, the long arm of the law finally caught up with twelve men who have been on the wanted lists of the Police for allegedly beheading one Afeez Obokwu in May this year.
They were arrested by officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Lagos State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti Yaba.
It was learned that Obokwu’s headless body was recovered on the highway at Oyingbo railway while the severed head was recovered by the Police at the Otto Ilogbo, Ebute Meta area.
The suspects arrested by the Police on tip off by members of the public include Kazeem Ajani, Suliamon Bello, Idowu Morawo, Abiodun Adeleke,Taiwo Jayesimi, Aberdeen Sanjowa,Abubakar Umaru, Ogunlade Dayo, Sodiq Olalere, Lekan Ajayi, Jamiu Wahaab and Kudus Olatunde.
While describing the suspects as serial killers, the Police said some of the suspects were earlier arrested and charged to court but were released.
From investigation, the suspects belong to two rival cult groups called the Otto Boys with allegiance to the Eiye cult and the Apapa Boys with allegiance to the Aiye cult with their base at the Ebute-Meta area of the state.
The suspects in their confessional statements to the Police revealed that they had participated in various killings across the state.
Narrating how they beheaded their victim, one of the suspects, Taiwo said his gang members killed four persons in a supremacy fight and beheaded one of their victims, Afeez Obokwu .
“My name is Taiwo but popularly called Figo. Sometimes in May, there was a crisis between the Otto Boys and the Apapa Boys. I belong to the Otto Boys. The leader of our gang is called Dangbe.
“On that particular day , our gang killed four rival cult members of the Apapa Road gang. We went to Apapa Road and engaged them in a shootout where we killed four of the Apapa Road cultists,” he said.
Taiwo Jayesimi listed those killed to include Akin, Fatia, Afeez Obokwu and Eleto, adding that they used cutlass to behead Obokwu. “The Apapa boys also killed some of our boys namely Abeeb, Tunde, Gani and Baba Benti. It was a gang war of supremacy between our gang and the Apapa Road Boys,” he said.
One of the suspects, Aberdeen, who claimed to belong to the Otto Boys cult, disclosed that he had been arrested and charged to court before.