Residents of Ikorodu, Lagos State, have been having sleepless nights in the past few days over the numbers of corpses found dumped in a canal, and by the roadside, in the ancient town. At the last count, ten mutilated bodies, all female, have been retrieved from different parts of town. These include six decomposing bodies discovered last week in a canal on Atele Street in the Anibaba area. Sensitive parts of the bodies had been removed, sparking fears of a ritual killer being on the loose.
Early this week, two naked bodies of another set of victims were also discovered. The bodies had been dumped by the road side, with breasts and tongues removed. Then, another two corpses, stripped naked, were found with their breasts and other private parts cut off, were found in another area of the town two days ago.
Residents told Daily Trust that they now live in fear. “The situation has made movement in and out of Ikorodu, especially early in the day and late at night, very scary. Many of us now stay indoors all day,” said Wale Adesiyan.
Residents of Anibaba area cried openly as they watched officials of the Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU) remove the corpses, to take them to the mortuary of the General Hospital, Yaba.
Residents, mainly on Atele Street, Andrew Close and Fatugba Close at Jetan in Anibaba, have appealed to Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to come to the their aid by providing adequate security round-the-clock. They claimed that their lives were being threatened by the activities of the alleged ritual killers whom, they said, have turned the area to the dumping ground of the corpses of their victims.
“The Chairman of Ikorodu Local Government Area and the Ayangburen of Ikorodu should also do something about the abandoned lands and buildings in the town which are being used as hideouts by criminals and for other evil acts,” said a trader who identified herself simply as Mama Bose.
Another resident, Mr. Mudashiru Sulaiman confirmed to Daily Trust that the community is full of abandoned lands, uncompleted buildings, bushes and forests which can easily attract ritualists. “Some of those bushy abandoned lands and buildings are also used for the dumping of ‘ebo’ (sacrifices) and smoking of Indian hemp by street thugs,” he said. He also called for streets to be lit, to discourage crime.
It was difficult for residents to identify the corpses because they were mostly stripped naked and are already decomposing, with either heads, or critical organs cut off in many instances.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, told Daily Trust that the police were still investigating. “We will make our findings public. We appeal to the public for useful information,” he said.
