A 39-year-old fruit seller, Dolapo Babalola, has narrated to the police that he used to kill some of his victims whenever they recognised him by dragging their motorcycles with them and cutting parts of their bodies for ritual purposes.
Babalola was arrested and paraded alongside his herbalists, accomplices, and other 16 criminal suspects at the state police headquarters in Akure, the state capital.
Babalola who said he killed his intimate friend and snatched his motorcycle at Oke-Igbo, in the Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo local government area of the state, also confessed to have killed five persons including his cousin.
Narrating how he used to kill his victims, the suspect said, “Whenever they recognise me, I will drag and kill them and their motorcycles with a stick and cut parts of their bodies for rituals.”
While disclosing that he had been in the trade since 2021, Babalola revealed that they carry out their operations within the town and neighbouring states.
According to him, ”I have killed five people including my cousin and my friend, and snatched their motorcycles. I killed Opeyemi who is my friend, and sold the motorcycle to a man in Ibadan called Taoheed. I do not sell human parts, but I took part of one of my victims’ bodies to an herbalist in Ondo who promised to give me an Ifa Oracle.
“At the point where we snatched motorcycles, anyone who struggled with me in the process got hit on the head with a fat stone and a stick.”
Another suspect, Quadri Lawal and his cohorts confessed that he cut off one of his victim’s heads into two, one part for his colleague, and kept the other for ritual purposes.
The 35-year-old man while recounting the events, said, “While hunting in the bush, I stumbled upon the lifeless body of a woman, which I then informed Oluawo about.”
He continued, “Oluawo requested that I extract certain body parts, which I complied with by cutting off a portion of the human head. One part was kept in my residence, while the other was handed over to Oluawo as requested.”
Lawal further said they used and turned the head into black soap for people, for different purposes mainly for money making.
He said, “We used to cut human parts on demand by some people ‘big men’ and we use them for black soap making. “
Parading the suspects, the Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Oladapo, disclosed that other arrested criminal suspects were those involved in the kidnapping at Ofosu in Idanre, those who killed one Evangelist Opeyemi Oyelakin and two herbalists who cut human parts for money ritual purposes.
He said, “Sequel to the arrest of one Babalola Dolapo Daniel who led police detectives to a shallow grave at Oke-Igbo where the corpse of Opeyemi Oyelakin, a commercial motorcyclist was exhumed, other suspects have been arrested in connection with the case.
”Further investigation revealed that the suspect had killed four persons in various locations and stole their motorcycles.
“In April 2023, he killed a motorcyclist in Kabba, Kogi State and Ife, along Ilesha Road in Osun State, removed some parts from the corpse for rituals.
“In June 2023, he killed another motorcyclist at Ondo town and dumped the corpse in a farm at Oboto bush along Bolorunduro road, Ondo town while in October 2023, the suspect and one Sikiru Mutiu aka S.K. deceived his childhood friend by name, Joel Olagoke to take them with his motorcycle to a location where he was killed, his body dismembered and handed to herbalists; Mujeeb Lawal and Shina Ojo who are both in police custody, for rituals.
“The duo of Abiola Olatunji Toheeb and Ayegbajeje Micheal who are receivers of stolen items and one Oyediran Waheed Olaitan who helps in the production of fake documents to aid the selling of the stolen motorcycles have been arrested.
“Seven motorcycles have been retrieved from the receivers while one suspect is still at large,” he said.
In the same vein, the Commissioner of Police said the Command has also arrested a suspected assassin who affirmed to have killed over 500 people, and that he was paid to kill the owner of a pure water factory.
“On April 18, 2024, at about 7pm, a case of threat to life and demanding money was reported to the police. The complainant stated that she received a call from a strange number and the caller introduced himself as an assassin.
”He demanded that a certain amount be paid to an account or the complainant will be executed.
“Out of fear, the victim sent the sum of ₦110,000 to the account forwarded to her, and through technical assistance one Adetokunbo Adesina was arrested. The suspect claimed he extorted the victim because she refused to employ him in her pure water factory,” CP Oladapo narrated.