Anger, tears as Ogun prophet butchers seven-year-old boy, buries head in Church 

There was tension, yesterday, in Odokekere area of Ikorodu, Ogun State, following the discovery of the dismembered body of a seven-year-old boy, Kazeem Rafiu, at a Church building. The suspects and the bag containg Kazeem’s remains.

A self-acclaimed prophet, simply identified as Eri Imole, family friend to the boy’s parents, had reportedly established a white garment church about two months ago in the area. The boy’s dismembered body was found in the Church’s uncompleted building.

It was gathered that the boy’s mother, Mrs Tawakalitu Rafiu, had left the boy and his five siblings in the custody of a co-tenant at their Sotunyo Street, Soso Bus Stop residence on Wednesday. It was further gathered that on the boy’s mother’s return later in the day, he was nowhere to be found and on further inquiry it was learned that the Pastor had lured the boy to his church. Unknown to the cleric, one of the boy’s siblings saw him taking Kazeem away.

A source, who pleaded anonymity, said nemesis caught up with the pastor on his way back to the community in the early hours of yesterday, when he was accosted by the local vigilante group for wandering. Sacrificed It was revealed that the Community Development Authority, CDA, was alerted by the vigilante men. The cleric then confessed selling the boy to an accomplice for N130,000, adding that the boy would be used for rituals at First Gate area of Ikorodu by 4a.m. Armed with the information, policemen from Ogijo Division were invited to the scene, but they did not arrive until 4.05a.m. One Adedoyin Oyekanmi was then apprehended and he confessed that the dismembered body was in the prophet’s custody at Oju-Odo.

An eyewitness, Madam Idiat Akani, said Police swung into action only to discover that the head had been buried in a shallow grave within the Church’s uncompleted building, while other parts of the body were packed in a polythene bag. She added that the head was later exhumed and taken to the station with the dismembered parts. At dawn, the scene drew a mammoth crowd to Ogijo Division where the suspects were detained, but the DPO declined comment as he referred Vanguard to the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Famous-Cole. However, a senior police officer told Vanguard that the suspects have confessed to the murder of the boy, saying they belong to a group of ritualists and that their members are all over Ikorodu.

Residents invade Baale’s palace When Vanguard visited the prophet’s uncompleted building, aggrieved residents had set it ablaze, while women in the area marched to the palace of the Baale, Chief Ajose Olowu, protesting the murder. The palace was almost set ablaze by the protesters, who alleged that the matter was not promptly attended to. But the Baale assured them that the matter will not be handled with kid gloves. He said: “I was away on Wednesday, but returned today (yesterday) to hear about the development and I went straight to the Police Station. “May I state clearly that this kind of matter will not be swept under the carpet and I promise to do the needful by ensuring that the Police do a good job.”