The police in Oyo State have arrested eight suspected serial ritual killers and 15 others over alleged murder, robbery and rape.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Ayodele Sonubi, made this known while parading the suspects in Ibadan on Friday.
Sonubi said the command got information about the act of one of the suspected serial ritual killers on August 10, when it was reported by one Ayede, and immediately swung into action.
He said that residents of the community had nperceived an offensive odour from a building belonging to the 40-year-old man who did not, however, reside in the house.
The commissioner also said that the man usually visited the house at odd hours.
CP Sonubi said: “Operatives from Moniya Divisional Police Headquarters swung into action and moved to the scene, where a dry well was seen at the compound of the house.
“Upon close observation, gory sights of what had the semblance of mutilated human bodies were spotted inside the well.
“Eventually, the remains of three unidentified bodies were removed to the State Hospital morgue for preservation and autopsy.”
The CP said that the suspect was arrested, adding that aside from confessing to the crime, he also named some of his accomplices – who are still at large – in the killing of people for money rituals.
Sonubi said sometime in April, the suspect and others at large, lured a 28-year-old man to the same scene at Moniya, severed his head and legs, and sold them to two other suspects.
He said that the suspect further confessed that on August 7, he and others now at large stabbed a 17-year-old boy to death and severed his head and legs, which they sold to a female suspect for N70,000.
He added: “On August 11, at about 0630hrs, an execution of search warrant was conducted in the houses and premises of the suspects where the victim’s fresh flesh was recovered.
“In the course of the investigation, other suspects were arrested and they confessed that they bought different types of human parts from the 40-year-old suspect.”
In an interview, the suspect, who claimed to be an Islamic cleric, said he started killing people for money rituals in 2024, adding that he had killed five people.
He said that he used to charge N200,000 from anybody who gave him money ritual job.
Exhibits recovered from the suspects included dried human skull, charm, 89 bags of cannabis sativa, motorcycle and cutlass, among others.
– NAN