The suspected killer’s den. Inset: Toilet
stained with blood.
The police in Ogun State have uncovered a house
said to be used for ritual purposes in Ado Odo Community, Ota Local Government
Area.
A young boy was said to have been rescued from
the bungalow which is surrounded by no fewer than three primary schools.
When PUNCH Metro visited the scene on
Wednesday, some curious residents were seen around the house.
One of them told our correspondent that the den
was uncovered after the suspected kidnappers abducted a boy who was hawking
belts.
The resident, who identified himself as Jamiu
Abisogun, said, “It was a boy hawking belt that they kidnapped. The boy was
negotiating the price of a belt with a man before he was called by one of the
men in the building.
“He left the man on the street and went inside
the building. However, the first man on the street later got the money to buy
the belt and started looking for the boy.
“After two hours and the boy did not come out of
the house, the man went to the Itele Police Station and told them about his
suspicion. Policemen from the station later stormed the building.”
Abisogun added that the police could not gain
access into the building immediately and had to return in the evening, when
they finally broke into the house.
They were said to have seen the ‘belt boy’ in the
toilet where he had been kept. He was said to have been injured, with blood
gushing out of his body.
The kidnappers were said to have fled the
building.
Our correspondent learnt that angry residents,
who had followed the policemen into the house, quickly mobilised and attacked
the property, damaging it and setting some parts ablaze.
Our correspondent, who moved round the bungalow,
which has a detached self contained block, saw foot wares and clothes belonging
to kids and women.
An Identity Card with the tag, ‘Dada Temitope-
Principle for Men, specialist in English and Native Dresses,’ was also sighted
inside the building.
Our correspondent saw blood stains on the wall of
the toilet. Some dark blood clots were seen in the wardrobe area of the
bedroom.
The picture of a fair complexioned man, standing
beside a 4Runner jeep with number plate, Lagos JJJ 580 AA, was also sighted up
by our correspondent.
A motorcyclist, Samuel Oladara, told our
correspondent that he had carried two men into the building at different times
and the image in the picture was that of one of them.
Oladara said at a time, he almost fell into their
trap as he was also asked to enter the building.
He said, “I know the two men living in the house
and if I see them, I will recognise them because I have taken them on my bike
at different times.
“One is short and plumpy, fair in complexion and
he limps when he walks. The other man is tall and also fair in complexion.
That’s the one in the picture.
“On a particular day, I had dropped the short one
in front of the house and he refused to pay me his N100 fare. He explained that
he had only N50 and said I should come into the building to collect the
balance, but I declined to follow him in. I just rode away.”
Oladara said the police could have caught them if
they had broken into the house the first time.
Our correspondent learnt from sources in the
neighbourhood that they usually heard groans and struggle, but thought they
were mere family fights.
The Chairman, Itele-Awori Area Community
Development Committee, Olatunji Onaolapo, appealed to the police to get to the
root of the matter.
He said, “The real owner of that house parked out
about two years ago after incessant robber’s attack. He gave it out to a
caretaker, who then rented it out to those guys.
“When the police came, they saw the belt boy
inside the toilet, drenched in blood.
“We also saw some other blood stains in different
parts of the house suggesting something evil had been going on there.
“We tried to stop the area boys, but the crowd
was just too much and they set the place on fire and destroyed some of the
evidences. The police arrested the younger brother of the owner of the house
and the caretaker. But those behind the real act escaped and I don’t know if
the police have been able to get them.”
When our correspondent visited the Itele Police
Station, he was told the matter had been transferred to Area G Command, Sango.
A police source however confirmed the incident.
He said, “After the operation, there were so many
people at the station here that we had to move the case to Sango. The matter
has been transferred there.”
Our correspondent visited the command, but the
Area Commander declined comments, urging our correspondent to contact the Ogun
State Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi.
However, attempts to reach Adejobi were abortive
as his mobile line rang out. A text message sent to him since Wednesday had yet
to be responded to as of the time of filing this report
Source: Punch
No comments:
Post a Comment