Victims’ families cry for justice as suspected serial killer makes shocking confessions

By KAZEEM AWOJOODU, Ibadan

The families of the slain victims of Akinyele Local Government Area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, have demanded for true justice over unjust killing of their family members.

The mother of one of the slain victims, Barakat Bello, Mrs Rasheedat Bello, who was at the Oyo State Police Command Headquarters, Eleyele Ibadan on Friday alongside her husband, Mr Bello, called on the police and relevant authorities to let justice prevail on the murder case of her daughter.

She said “The suspected killer has done worst by killing my daughter. I have just two children; the late Barakat and her younger sister. Now that the suspect have been arrested, they cannot bring back my daughter.

“We are poor, we don’t have money to do any case, but we have God. I beg all the relevant authorities on this case to please let justice prevail. The killer has taken away my joy and happiness by killing my daughter who was a source of joy and happiness to me before she was brutally murdered.

“So I will like the true justice to take it’s course over the killer of my daughter. Until her death, my daughter used to be a brilliant and a gentle girl,” Mrs Bello said.

The husband to the late pregnant woman, Azeezat Shomuyiwa, Mr Ridwanulahi Adewale, could not hold back tears while speaking with INDEPENDENT on the incident.

He said: “I’m more than devastated; my wife and I have been together for long and for me to just lose her like that to those circumstances that surrounded her death, it’s a something that I will live to mourn for longer periods of time.

“My wife and I had already have one issue. We are expecting a baby soon. She was murdered in cold blood for no reason. She left me, her aged parents, and her child. It’s so sad, she was murdered with heavy pregnancy.

“I commend the Oyo State Police Command for the efforts to arrest those behind the killing of my wife. But I want true justice to prevail over this case because I have the feelings that the prime suspect was sent by someone and he had said it is that Baba herbalist that sent him.

But as this old man is denying the boy now, I think maybe the man has a strong lawyer somewhere or has some strong men that have assured him that he will come out of the case only if he keeps denying sending the boy on such errands.

“This case must not go in the usual way where delay of justice in most cases can cause denial of justice. I believe the police did a wonderful job within the short period the crime was committed just because all eyes were on them.

“So I want the judiciary to also do the case as soon as possible and I also urge the Police to step up their investigation so as to confirm who really sent that boy on such an era as I have strong belief that the boy must have been sent by someone. So I demand for true justice over this matter,” Ridwanulahi stressed.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State Police Command, had on Friday paraded three people in connection with the killings of innocent people at Akinyele Local Government Area of Ibadan.

Briefing journalists at the Command Headquarters Eleyele Ibadan on the development, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Joe Nwachukwu Enwowu, said the Command had to embarked on an aggressive and sustainable community policing strategy, coupled with the cooperation of the affected community leaders.

The concerted efforts put up by officers and men of the Command and also the unflinching support of the Oyo State Government and the support received by the good people of Oyo State eventually paid off in arresting those suspected criminals.

The suspects were paraded alongside 16 other suspected criminals that allegedly committed various offences such as armed robbery, defilements, rape, murder attempt and an India Hemp dealing.

CP Nwachukwu said the suspected serial killers has been troubling the settled water at Akinyele Local Government Area of the City, and they have confessed to the crime.

Briefing journalists on how the suspected killers were arrested, CP, Joe Nwachukwu said that on June 4, 2020, at about 11:30 PM, some unknown hoodlums who have been terrorizing members of the public in Akinyele, Ojoo, and Moniya Areas of Ibadan invaded the residence of one Azizat Somuyiwa, female, aged 29, a pregnant woman at Ijefun, L- Adisa Community, Ojoo, Area, Ibadan.

According to CP, who said the unknown notorious hoodlums brutally attacked the said pregnant woman, before, she was later hacked to death in cold blood and her Techno mobile phone was taken away.

“The incident was reported at Ojoo Divisional Police Headquarters, Ibadan on, 5th April, 2020 and I mobilized SARS operatives with Policemen from the State CID, Ibadan and visited the scene of the crime for on-the-spot assessment.

“After discreet investigation by a text of SARS Operatives, one Shehu Usman, male, was arrested in connection with the crime, one Techno Mobile Phone belonging to the slain woman was recovered from him.

“Though the suspect denied his involvement in the crime but gave useful information which led to arrest of one notorious hoodlum who identified himself as Sunday Shodipe, Male aged 20.

“The suspected criminal confessed to have single handedly masterminded the crime and explained in details how he invaded the victim’s residence where she was brutally attacked, robbed her before she was later murdered in her cold blood.

He, however, explained his modus operandi that he used to target female victims, attacked them with dangerous weapon (shovel) robbed them before hacking them to death, Nwachukwu stressed.

Speaking with the INDEPENDENT, the prime suspect, Sunday Shodipe, Male, Aged 19, confessed to have been behind all the killings in Akinyele Local Government Area. Though he denied raping his victims before killing them, he confessed to have been sent to do the killings by one Mr Adedokun Yinusa Ajani, an herbalist.

He said: “I’m responsible for the killings of five victims, the one of Barakat Bello, a pregnant woman Mrs. Azeezat Shomuyiwa, Grace Oshiagwu, Olusayo Fagbemi, and Mujeeb Tiamiyu.

“The last operation I did was not successful because I didn’t recite the incantations before and after hitting my targets, so they did not die. I don’t know all these people before but each time I left Baba place after the incantations, I will just meet myself at the right place of my targeted victims and I will hit them with this shovel.

“I was sent by this Baba, Mr. Adedokun Yinusa Ajani, Male, aged 50, the Baba is an herbalist in my area. I’m his apprentice. He used to send me to go and use shovel to hit people on head. Before I go for each operation, Baba will asked me to kneel down and close my eyes and he will started chanting some incantations, and after that he will told me to go and hit my target with this shovel and that I must wait to confirm that the person is dead before leaving the scene.

“He used to say that I should immediately recite an incantations after I might have hit my target, and I do stay in that scene for at least five minutes, during that five minutes nobody will see me, and according to Baba he had told me that during that five minutes the ghost will be having sexual intercourse with the dead victim.

“Then after the five minutes I will leave the scene, and then go straight to Baba’s house, where he usually gave me N500, and a plate of Amala to eat. I don’t know what Baba is using those people for.

Speaking on how he was arrested, Sunday said: “I think I was arrested, because the last victims I attacked did not die, just because I didn’t remember to recite the incantations that I normally chant before and after each operation.

“And I think some local hunters or vigilantes that saw me while leaving the premises of the scene on that day gave me out. Also, the phone I stole from one of my operations was sold out to this guy here beside me, Shehu Usman, whom I had already told that the phone had been locked but he insisted on buying the phone.

“He told me that he will open it and he gave me N5,000 (four N1,000 notes and two N500 NOTES); his arrest eventually led to my arrest.”

The herbalist, Mr Adedokun Yinusa Ajani Olosanyin, however, denied sending Sunday Shodipe for any killing, but admitted that Sunday was one time his apprentice.

He said: “I know Sunday, he was my apprentice before but I don’t know about all these killings that he is talking about. I don’t send him on such errands; I’m an herbalist but not a ritualist. I don’t know how to do rituals; I don’t do rituals for people. I only do herbal medicines for people’s ailments,” Ajani Yinusa said.

Shodipe, however, countered the herbalist saying the old man had initially denied knowing him when they were first arrested by the SARS Operatives.

He said: “I have to asked those SARS operatives to call my mother and make more investigations from her and it was when my mother was invited to the SARS that the man now confessed of knowing me when he saw my mother who was the one that took me to him to learn herbalist work from him.

“So when he saw my mother he could no longer deny knowing me. But still insisted that he was not the one that sent me, which is a big lie. He is the one that used to send me. I did not know that what I was doing is not good. Honestly, I don’t know it’s a crime until I got to the SARS Operatives custody. I can’t really say maybe I was hypnotized by him to carry out such unfortunate acts; I plead for mercy.”

However, the lucky victims, a woman and her daughter, Mrs. Adeola Azeez, aged 45, and Oyeyemi Dolapo, 23, were also present at the Command Headquarters during the briefing.

They were the last operation of Shodipe. They were attacked, but luckily they did not die, they suffered various degrees of injuries on their heads as a result of the shovel that was used to hit them.

Exhibits recovered from the suspects were, one Techno Mobile Phone, One I Phone Xmax, One Itel Phone and a shovel. (Saturday Independent)