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Ondo: Killers on the prowl as cold-blooded murders surge

Within one month, no fewer than six persons have been gruesomely murdered in different parts of Ondo State, which now causes apprehension among residents. ADEWALE MOMOH writes on how the victims were killed and how murderers have been on the loose.

 

With Ondo State still grappling with the issue of kidnapping, which security agencies had been battling with and tackling headlong, the state now seems to be confronted with another form of crime where people have been killed in gruesome manners in the last four weeks

 

One of the killings that shocked the state, particularly within Akure metropolis, was that of a 60-year-old woman, Mrs. Yemisi Ajayi, who was stabbed to death multiple times in her sleep by unknown persons.

 

Mrs Ajayi’s gruesome murder was a case of tragic history repeating itself as she was killed at her residence in Abusoro area of Ijoka in Akure South Local Government Area where her only child, Fiona Oluwaseun Ajila, was also stabbed to death multiple times in October, 2018.

 

According to multiple sources, the late Mrs. Ajayi, who was stabbed about five times and left in a pool of blood by the killers, had been heart-broken since the murder of her 20-year-old daughter who was a model. Life was snuffed out of the distraught woman just a few weeks after the third remembrance anniversary of the death of her only child.

 

It was learnt that after killing her, the assailants, who were said to have gained entrance into the house through the roof, covered her body with heaps of clothes from her wardrobe. Just like how her daughter, who was a graduate of the Adeyemi College of Education, was murdered, the killers took nothing from the house after committing the crime.

 

The body of Mrs Ajayi was discovered by the young girl who she adopted shortly after the demise of her daughter. Following the discovery, the girl raised the alarm which attracted residents and neighbours to the residence.

 

According to a resident within the area, who identified herself as ‘Olafimihan’, said: “The young girl living with the deceased narrated to people that when she woke up, she was looking for her mother so that they could pray together but unfortunately she didn’t see her.

 

“She went on searching for her until she found her lifeless body. The assailants had taken some clothes from the wardrobe of the deceased and used them to cover her body. When I got there today, I started crying, and then I called some of our neighbours.”

 

Another resident, however, said detectives from the state police command failed to see any correlation between the two killings while the residents, family and friends of the deceased suspected foul play in the copycat murders of mother and daughter three years apart.

 

A family member, who craved anonymity, said: “We suspect foul play; there might be a hidden secret only open to the daughter and mother which made the assailants to be trailing them around before killing them.

 

“They were killed in the same situation, only that the daughter was raped before she was stabbed to death even when she was doing her monthly period. We want the police to beam their searchlight on these two murder cases because we suspect foul play.”

 

While calling on the police marry the two  incidents and unravel those behind the murder of the mother and daughter, a relation of late Mrs Ajayi, however, said: “We take solace in God. The mother and daughter should be allowed to rest.

 

We leave everything in the hands of God. I don’t want to say anything further.” Just when the killing of Mrs Ajayi was still fresh in the minds of almost everyone in the state and still a hot topic, a pregnant nurse and her lover as well as their friend were found dead in their apartment at Aralusi quarters in Akure, the state capital.

 

The two lovers, identified as Ojo Akinro and Mary lgwe, and their friend Lamidi Sheriff were suspected to have been murdered following the discovery of their bodies in the toilet of their apartment.

 

With the deceased lady, who was a nurse and said to be pregnant before she was murdered in cold-blood, sources in the area said the victims may have drew the ire of their killers who they suspected to be ‘Yahoo boys’ following what they described as bad business among them.

 

The friends of the lovers became apprehensive when all the calls made to their phones were not returned after which they went to the house where they found the bodies after breaking in, to access their apartment.

 

Following the discovery of the gory scene, the friends raised the alarm which attracted their flat mates and other neighbours who immediately alerted the police of the incident.

 

According to one of the neighbours, who craved anonymity, said that: “This is a case of murder, the victims must have been silence over a failed deal. You know all these young boys and girls are into so many shady deals. “It was unbelievable when their corpses were brought out by the police and taken to the mortuary.

 

The lovers lived together; many people even believed they were a young couple. “Their killers came through the back door, murdered them and decided to lock up their bodies inside the toilet to decompose.

 

The back door was met opened. Their laptops, telephones and other gadgets were still intact inside their flat when some of their friends broke down the front door to enable them to enter into their flat. “We suspect that they were killed by yahoo boys and that means they must have swindled them and they decided to silence them.”

However, another source hinted that the killers gained access into the apartment through the back door then escaped through the front door and took away the key. The source noted that if not for their friends that were worried about their whereabouts and came looking for them, their corpses would have decomposed inside the toilet.

 

Their neighbours appealed to security operatives to unravel those behind the dastardly act and bring them to book. Few days after the death of the three young adults, a 78-year-old church cleaner was also murdered in cold-blood by unknown assailants suspected to be ritualists at Iwaro Oka-Akoko, in Akoko South West Local Government Area of the state.

The woman identified as Mrs Veronica Dare was killed in the early hours of a Sunday at Deeper Life Bible Church in the community. With the community thrown into a state of apprehension, a glimpse at her lifeless body in a pool of blood revealed that she was axed on the neck.

 

According to the family of the woman, the manner at which she was killed was a pointer that Mrs Dare was killed by ritualists The son of the deceased woman, Boniface Dare, disclosed that the assailants removed the oesophagus and some other parts of the deceased after she was hacked to death.

 

He said the septuagenarian was killed inside the church before dragging her remains out of the church before removing the parts in front of the church.

 

He explained that it was the normal routine of the deceased to visit the church early in the morning to clean the church before every service. Boniface, who suspected that the assailants must have been noticing that the old woman usually visits the church between 5:30am and 6:00 am every Sunday, stated her killers must have trailed her to the church and killed her for ritual purposes.

 

The son of the woman, however, charged security agencies in the state to unravel those behind the killing of the woman. He said: “We are now living in fear in this community because we don’t know who is next. The security agencies should rise to the occasion and apprehend those behind this killing.

 

“We are demanding concrete action from security agencies to unearth the killers and bring them to book.” Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing Akoko South-West Constituency 1 in the state, Hon. Gbenga Omole, has called on security operatives in the state to fish out killers of the woman. Omole in a statement signed by him described the killing as barbaric saying the act is alien to the people of the area.

 

He said: “Mummy Dare who was reportedly hacked to death in the early hours of  Sunday November 28, 2021 has it as a routine to sweep the church very early, every Sunday morning and probably other worship days.

 

“She has been offering this selfless service in the vineyard of God for years without any hitches.” He added that: “Contrary to earlier reports that she was waylaid on her way to the church, information at my disposal has it that she was dragged out of the church auditorium and slaughtered right in front of the church building.

 

“Evidence abound that her slippers and the broom she was supposed to use for sweeping were seen right inside the church. “From the gory picture of her lifeless body before she was taken to the morgue, it could be seen that she has a deep cut on her neck and this has heightened the suspicion that she might probably be a victim of ritual killers.

 

“This is a dangerous dimension to security in our constituency as no occurrence of such gruesome murder has been noticed in the area in recent times. “The perpetrators of this dastardly act will not escape the wrath of God.”

 

Omole called on residents of the community to be vigilant and report suspected criminals to law enforcement agencies as a way of checking such crimes in the community. “I am using this opportunity to appeal to our people to maintain peace and order and be hopeful that the security operatives will get to the roots of this matter.”

 

Similarly, on October 28, 2021, the lifeless body of a young lady was also found on the roadside in Oke-Ijebu area of Akure. With the development causing tension in the area, the corpse of the lady who was suspected to have been a victim of ritual killers was dumped in the area by unknown persons. According to the some of the residents of the area, the corpse was dumped in front of an auditorium in the area by those suspected to be ritualists

 

With the body wrapped in white cloth, items such as cream, sponge, tablets, bra, and clothes packed inside a black nylon were placed beside the corpse. Also a telephone number was found written on a small sheet of paper with a name Joy, placed inside the black nylon beside the body.

 

According to a resident who identified herself as Tomisin, said the residents of the area woke up on Tuesday morning to find the corpse of the lady beside the road. She said: “It was when we woke up in morning that we saw the corpse of the lady on the road.

 

“The way we saw the matter, it looked as if some people have used her for ritual purpose and when she died they dumped her corpse beside the road in the midnight and fled. But the matter has been reported to the police.”

 

Following the killings, residents have been expressing concerns over manner at which there were carried out.

 

Some of the residents who spoke on the development were of the view that security agencies in the state ought to have been on top of the situation in order to douse the apprehension which had been building up. According to civil servant in the state who gave her name as Mrs Oluduro said: “What is happening is a dangerous trend particularly that no one has been arrested.

 

“When a crime is committed and nothing is done about it and it emboldens criminal to continue to perpetrate their evil acts. “The police should be up and doing in ensuring that the culprits are arrested. With such arrest, at least, there will a little bit be at peace.”

 

Earlier, the image maker of the Nigeria Police in the state, DSP Funmilayo Odunlami, stated that the investigations had begun towards unmasking those behind the killings.

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