A herbalist, Ganiyu Kehinde, of Obaoke, Osun State, who was arrested by the police for allegedly murdering his friend, Emmanuel Collins, said he committed the act to obtain human body parts for use in money rituals.
Kehinde was among the suspects arrested for various crimes across the state who were handed over by the police at the Osun State Police Command, Osogbo, on Friday.
Narrating the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the Osun State Police Command, Mr Yemisi Opalola, said they received reports that a 35-year-old Ghanaian, Collins, was killed by unknown persons in the Oke-Odo area of Osogbo.
“Police detectives swung into action and through information leading to investigations, one Kehinde Ganiyu, a close friend of the deceased, was arrested. He confessed to committing the heinous crime and stated that on the 9th of July, 2024, at about 9pm, he went to the residence of the deceased with a knife and encountered him in bed due to illness.
“He butchered the deceased with a kitchen knife and slashed their throats, adding that he dried the throats for three days before taking them to a bush called Igbo Imese Aiwosi area in Obaoke village and burnt them in a clay pot along with some ritual materials and later mixed the burnt powder with soap for money ritual (OSOLE).”
“The suspect admitted to carrying out the operation alone. Investigations are still ongoing and once completed the suspect will be produced before court,” Opalola said.
Responding to questions from journalists, Kehinde, who claims to be a herbalist, admitted to killing the victim, adding that he made ritual soap from her throat for money.
He told me I was an herbalist. “It was my friend who died. I didn't know what had happened. I met him when he was sick and attacked and killed him for the money ritual. The devil tricked me into killing my friend for the money ritual. After I killed him, I cut his throat and used it to make soap for the money ritual. I had made similar soap before for the four Yahoo Boys. The devil tricked me to do it.”
Also paraded was one Effiong Saviour, 22, who was alleged to have attacked a woman in Ipetumodu with a cutlass and slashed her with a machete before snatching her handbag containing her mobile phone, GTB ATM card and N6,000.
In a warning against criminal activity, Opalola said all suspects would be produced before court once investigations into the various crimes are concluded, and urged residents to voluntarily come forward with information in a timely manner to prevent crime.
