Chibuzor Igwe spoke when he and two others were paraded at the Police Command in Ikeja for the killing of Shakiru Yekini at Alajo Close, Abule Osorun, Ibeshe Ikorodu.
The others are Samuel Akaeze aka Samito and Omotayo Abamoyegun.
Yekini was sedated and his skull smashed. His wife and six months old baby are lying critically ill at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.
Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal, who paraded the suspects, said: “The gang of three murderers and ritualists, comprising Igwe, Akaeze and Abamoyegun, usually sprays a powdery substance into their victim’s dwelling place. That makes them fall into deep sleep before they end their lives by smashing their skulls with a grinding stone.
“Having certified that their victims were dead, Abamoyegun would use a white handkerchief to scrub their blood for ritual purposes. However, luck ran out of them when one of the victims raised the alarm which attracted the local vigilante group. The vigilante group in turn alerted the police and the compound was cordoned off, leading to the arrest of Igwe.”
The police also arrested Akaeze’s wife Gift, who is said to act as a scout for the suspects.
According to Edgal, Igwe’s name topped the police watchlist following the killing of a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) pastor simply identified as Victor in November.
Igwe’s brother, Uche, who was arrested with the pastor’s Nokia phone, said Chibuzor gave it to him.
The police chief said Igwe’s confession led to the arrest of the gang’s priest, Fatai Adebayo, in Ijebu Imosan, Ogun State, on Tuesday.
He said: “Chibuzor Igwe further confessed that the gang leader, Omotayo Abamoyegun usually took them to a shrine at Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State where an oath would be taken before the commencement of any operation. The herbalist would then fortify them with charms for protection and against arrest by security operatives. The native doctor also blesses the grinding stone with which they smash people’s skull. The native doctor, Fatai Adebayo (a.k.a. Adaripo) was arrested in an operation I personally led and the shrine destroyed. Recovered from the shrine were some grinding stones believed to be part of the arsenal of this skull smashing gang.”
Edgal said the grinding stones believed to have been used in maiming victims at Ibeshe, Ipakodo and Ikorodu had been recovered. The exhibits, he added, would be subjected to forensic analysis for the blood samples of the victims and suspects.
The commissioner urged the gang’s suspected financier, Alhaji Abayomi Alaka, to submit himself for questioning.
The police declared Alaka wanted on December 22 and some of his properties in Ikorodu – a filling station, a hotel and an events centre – were sealed off on Wednesday by the government for allegedly violating the Urban and Regional Planning Law 0f 2010.
A newspaper yesterday quoted Alaka as saying that he was ready to submit himself to the Inspector-General of Police and not Edgal.
Reacting, Edgal said: “Wherever he is, he can report to the police there. They will bring him to the right place. The police are everywhere.”
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