The police in Oyo State have arrested a self-acclaimed prophet, Dotun Ogunlade, and his accomplice, identified as Mutiu, for killing a 25-year-old housewife, Bosede Oguntade.
The victim, who was seeking solutions to her economic and marital problems, was lured by the prophet to Igboora in the Ibarapa area of the state via Facebook, only to be strangled on arrival.
The mutilated and decomposing corpse of the victim was exhumed in the presence of journalists and sympathisers, who wailed and rained curses on the prophet and his accomplice, for allegedly murdering the victim and grinding her body parts into powder for money ritual purpose.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Shina Olukolu, who led a team to the location where the victim was buried, said the head and arms of Bosede were cut off before the rest of the body was buried.
Olukolu stated, “Further investigation revealed that parts of her body were allegedly grinded into powder for rituals.
“Items recovered from the assailants were two knives used to cut her body parts, a white cloth bag containing a gourd, where the alleged grinded parts were kept, and a bottle of gin.”
“The police will continue with our resolute determination to stamp out crimes and criminality in the society. Members of the public should be careful in reposing absolute trust in individuals or groups, who are strangers, especially those they meet on the social media or those who claim to possess the power of clairvoyance or the ability to successfully treat terminal diseases or possess solutions to social and marital challenges,” he added.
Speaking with journalists, Ogunlade said he gained experience from his former boss, who is a prophet of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church.
He said, “The woman (Bosede) and I had been chatting on Facebook since January this year. I later invited her to Igboora. My friend, Mutiu, had already told me about his own challenges in life. He told me that he was ready for money rituals. So, I decided to use the woman for money rituals for him.
“When the woman arrived from Ilorin, I went to pick her up. On getting to my house on May 31, this year, I gave her sleeping drugs after she complained of body pain. She slept off and I cut off her head and arms. Her head was later burnt to ashes for money rituals.”