On Wednesday, a 35-year-old suspected ritualist, Ifasoji Ayangbesan who offered one million naira (N1m) bribe to evade arrest in Ogun state, confessed that he bought two human legs of a victim, Oyindamola Adeyemi they killed and dismembered at the cost of N20, 000.
The suspect who was paraded alongside other 12 suspects at the state Police Command Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, however, denied partaking in killing the victim who was reportedly murdered on January 28, 2023.
Ayangbesan, a resident of the Iloti axis of the Ijebu-Ode local government area of Ogun state, said he only obtained the legs from his friend Lukman, who said he exhumed the body part from a cemetery, saying he is a herbalist and not ritualist.
“I bought two fresh human legs, but I was not involved in the murder of the victim. I was approached by my friend, Lukman, who told me he had a pair of legs to sell. Though I told him I did not need them, he convinced me to use them for the ritual to better my life, and I agreed.
“I, however, told him I did not know how to make money rituals as I was not taught that as a traditionalist. He then referred me to his friend from Oye, popularly known as Egbeji in Isiwo.
“After I was taught how to go about it, I burnt the legs and kept them in my house with plans to complete the ritual when I returned from Ajah because I had a job to do there.
“However, my daughter called me while I was at Ajah that the police had come to the house looking for me. So, I later sneaked in and took away the burnt legs so that I would not be caught with any evidence because I heard that Lukman had been arrested and he had mentioned my involvement in the case,” Ayangbesan said.
On the N1 million bribe to the police, the suspect stated that a lawyer had asked him to provide N10 million to secure his release, but he was only able to raise N1 million.
“I did not offer the police any bribe. When I heard that the police were on the lookout for me, a lawyer told me to get N10 million to set myself free, but I told him I could not raise the money. However, I was able to raise N1 million. Unfortunately for me, the lawyer claimed that I had informed someone about him asking me for money. He then instructed me to place the money in front of him and he took a picture, and then I was arrested. I never offered police money.”
Among the suspects paraded are five suspected cultists, one serial killer from Abeokuta and its environs, and eight armed robbers.
The Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Olanrewaju Oladimeji while parading the suspects, said the arrest was a result of a joint strategic effort to deal with criminal elements in the state.
