Ritual killing: Ogun police arrest four over disappearance of 36-year-old woman
Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta
Operatives of Ogun State Police Command said they have arrested four men over the sudden disappearance of a 36-year-old woman, Adebayo Aminat Keji who had gone missing since September 16, 2022.
Those arrested in connection with the sudden disappearance of the woman are Azeez Raimi aged 21, Yusuf Shaeed aged 33, Awodero Michael aged 27 and 39-year-old Soneye Lateef.
According to statement from the Spokesman of the State Police Command, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the four suspects were said to have been arrested after Ahmed Adebayo, the elder brother of the victim lodged complaint at Sagamu divisional headquarters that his sister who left home since 15th of September had not been seen.
Upon this report, the Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Bankole was said to have directed the anti kidnapping unit of the state Criminal Investigation Departments to unravel the mystery behind the sudden disappearance of the woman.
In compliance with the CP’s directive, the SP Taiwo Opadiran led team was said to have embarked on technical and intelligence based investigation, which led them to one Soneye Lateef an hotelier, whose hotel facility the victim was seen last.
On interrogation, the hotelier (Lateef) was said to have allegedly admitted that the missing woman was in his hotel on that day on the invitation of her friend, one Bose Fajebe, who came to the hotel with her boyfriend.
Bose Fajebe was said to have invited the missing woman to join them, but as soon as she arrived, the hotelier picked interest in her and started having a romantic discussion with her.
While the two of them were discussing, Bose and her boyfriend left them and went away.
The hotelier further explained to the Police that the missing woman (Aminat) also left not quite long after her friend had left, and later in the night, he also left the hotel with two of his friends namely Saheed Yusuf and Michael Awodero to meet a herbalist, Azeez Raimi who is to carry out an Ifa divination ritual for them, and that they were all at the shrine throughout the night.
The Police, however, disclosed that contrary to Lateef’s claim that the missing woman was not with them at the shrine, the Ifa priest confirmed that he saw the woman in the vehicle with Lateef and Yusuf Saheed outside the shrine and that they later left with the lady in the night to somewhere he didn’t know, only for them to come back early in the morning without the lady.
The Ifa priest was also said to have given a vivid description of the woman he saw, and when her photograph was shown to him, he confirmed it was the woman he saw with Lateef and Yusuf on that fateful day.
Awodero Michael also corroborated the herbalist statement that they were all at the shrine throughout the night, but the hotelier and his friend Saheed who is an internet fraudster left the shrine with the woman in the night and came back in the morning without her.
The police said further investigation revealed that the woman must have been used for ritual purpose.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Bankole has ordered that the suspects be charged to court without further delay.
