RITUAL KILLING IN NIGERIA

Afobaje, Tanko and Suleiman

AN Alfa in the Badagry area of Lagos State, Fatai Afobaje, has been accused of conspiring with some security men in his area to kill his friend, Rafiu Suleiman.

Police sources said after the 40-year-old was dead, Afobaje, along with five others, shared his remains among themselves for ritual purposes.

It was gathered that what remained of the late Kwara State indigene was recovered by men of the Nigeria Police Force on Monday, after an intensive search.

The incident happened at Oko Agbonla, Magbon in the Badagry area.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Afobaje and Suleiman had been friends for a long time, and the deceased had given a lot of money to the suspect.

Afobaje was said to have conspired with the Chief Security Officer of the area, identified only as Tanko, to kill Suleiman on Friday.

Our correspondent learnt that apart from the corpse, the police also recovered a clay pot which contained the fingers of the deceased with a few naira notes.

A source said the two men had met in a commercial bus and became friends that lasted for years.

He said, “The two men met in a commercial bus. Suleiman had offered to pay the transport fare of Afobaje after the conductor was about embarrassing him because he had no change.

“The Alfa then said he would like to know him better for being so gracious to him (Alfa). So, Suleiman gave the Alfa his address and asked him to visit.

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“That was how the friendship started. From what we found out, Suleiman, who worked as a crane operator, would collect his salary and give half of it to Alfa at the end of the month and that happened for a long time.”

The source, who added that investigation was still on, said Afobaje suddenly connived with his friends to kill Suleiman.

Another source said on Friday, last week, the victim was called by Alfa to come for a meeting around 8pm.

He said, “As soon as the victim got to the street’s gate, the security guards surrounded him and asked who he was looking for. When he told them, they flogged him with charms and he died.

“They then called the Alfa to come and when he arrived, they shared his body parts. While one collected his head, another demanded all his intestines, while another asked for his breasts, which were given out.”

Our correspondent learnt that when the victim’s boss did not find him, he made a call to his wife, who explained that she had yet to also see him.

His boss was said to have contacted policemen from the Morogbo division who then launched a search for him.

The deceased’s brother, Yinusa Wahab, told PUNCH Metro that the victim’s wife asked him to search Afobaje’s house, adding that the victim was there.

Wahab said, “We went to the house, but he was not around. We searched everywhere and didn’t see my brother. Later, we saw a mutilated corpse floating on a stream near the house. It was swollen and there was no head. The breast had been cut off.

“We went back to the house and as we looked around, I saw some fingers in a pot which were still being burnt and when I saw them, I could recognise that they belonged to my brother.”

The police were said to have apprehended the suspect, and he reportedly named the chief security officer as an accomplice.

Afobaje, when queried, owned up to the act, saying he divided the body with the other suspects.

He said, “He was on his way to my house when he was killed. When I got there, he had been killed and then we shared his body. I urge my accomplices to also confess because the act has been uncovered and there is nothing we can do about it.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident.

He said, “The decomposing corpse of the victim has been recovered, while Alfa Fatai has been arrested.

“The matter has been transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation, Yaba.”