Men nabbed for killing hunchback for money-making rituals

Men of the Ondo State Police Command have arrested four suspects for allegedly killing a 25-year-old hunchback, Mr. Adeoye Dowo, for money rituals.

Apart from the alleged ritual killers, the command also arrested 13 suspects for different offences ranging from armed robbery to cow theft.

They were paraded at the state police headquarters on Friday by the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sani Magaji.

Magaji said Dowo was lured into a bush in Ago Alaye Village, in Odigbo Local Government by the suspects where he was killed and his hump was removed for money rituals.

The suspects, according to the CP, lured the victim through the aid of a lady who agreed to marry him.

A herbalist, Mr. Oluwatosin Elebile, was also among the four suspects paraded by the police.

Others are Samuel Olatunji, Dayo Araromi and Lekan Holo.

The CP said the suspects conspired and lured the hunchback into a forest at Oniparaga where they strangled him before they removed his hump.

He said the father of the hunchback reported at the station that his son, Adeoye, was missing and investigation revealed that he was kidnapped by Olatunji who confessed to the crime during interrogation.

The police said the accused led detectives to the scene where the body was found in a pool of blood with the hump missing.

Olatunji, one of the accused, confirmed his involvement in the crime.

He said “We contacted a herbalist on how to make money through rituals and he assured us that if we could bring a hump, we would become rich. We contracted the lady to lure Adeoye to the bush and we killed him before removing the hump.

“We kept the hump in a plastic and hid it in a bush but the police traced us and I was apprehended while others ran away. But they were later arrested.When we got to where we kept the hump, it had been taken away. I suspect my friends took it away in order not to leave any trace”

However, the herbalist denied involvement in the crime but confirmed that he was actually contacted by the suspects.

Meanwhile, two other suspects, Oyeleyinbo Patrick and Fatunwa Tunde, were arrested at the herbalist’s house for unlawful possession of firearms.

Some of the items recovered from the two suspects include one pistol and a Dane gun with five live cartridges.

Also, members of a five-member robbery squad that allegedly killed a police inspector during a robbery last year in Emure, Owo Local government area of the state, were paraded by the CP.

Magaji said the suspects were arrested months after his men started trailing them from one location to another.

The police also paraded members of a syndicate that specialised in stealing cows from different locations around the Akure metropolis.

The CP urged members of the public to always furnish the command with useful information that would lead to the hideouts of criminals.