The Osun State Police Command has arrested an Islamic cleric, Kabir Ibrahim, for allegedly butchering a 25-year-old farmer, Lukman Adeleke, and dumping his remains along the Akure-Ilesa Expressway.
The police said the cleric wanted to use his victim’s hand for a money making ritual for another man. They are now both in police custody in Osogbo.
A police source told our correspondent on Friday that Adeleke sold his cocoa and made N300,000 from it and wanted to buy an uncompleted building with the proceeds.
But not wanting to invest the money without spiritual guidance, the young farmer was said to have consulted Ibrahim, who is also known as Akewusola, to pray for him.
Ibrahim allegedly asked the cocoa farmer to come with the whole N300,000, promising to pray over the money. He said the young man would also have to sleep over at his place for the prayer session.
He allegedly put up the farmer in a room where he later killed him while he slept.
To conceal his act, Akewusola dismembered the corpse and dumped the body parts packed inside a sack along the expressway.
The family of the young farmer was said to have become worried, when they could not locate him for many days. They reportedly went to an okada rider with whom he was last seen.
Our correspondent learnt that the okada rider took them to the alfa’s residence and following rigorous questioning by the police , he confessed.
However, before Akewusola dumped the victim’s body on the highway, he was said to have removed the victim’s right hand, which he wanted to use to do a money ritual for his client.
A police source told our correspondent, “He told them how he killed and butchered the man. The alfa said he wanted to use the right palm of the deceased for money ritual for another client. So he and the client were arrested.”
The Police Public Relations Officer in Osun State, Mr. Ajigbade Egbedele, confirmed the incident to our correspondent on the telephone.
“The case is still under investigation. We will do everything to get to the root of the matter, We cannot say if he (alfa) actually butchered him because the body was already decomposing as of the time we recovered it but investigation would reveal everything,” the PPRO said.
