A commercial driver, Olumide Lawal, has recounted the devastating discovery of his 16-year-old son’s mutilated body, allegedly killed for ritual purposes in Igbile Ijebu, Ogun State.
In an interview with PUNCH Metro on Wednesday, Lawal narrated how his son, Wahab Lawal, went missing on July 21, only to be found dead two days later with vital body parts removed.
According to a statement from the Ogun state police command signed by spokesperson Omolola Odutola, the boy’s decomposing body was discovered by the roadside with his  head, wrists, heart, and genitals missing..
Acting on intelligence, police arrested Salawu Omikansola and Serefusi Agemo in connection with the suspected ritual killing.
Lawal explained that his mother had first alerted him to Wahab’s disappearance. He immediately left Ijebu-Ode for Igbile and joined a frantic search across the community.
“I reported the matter to the police and continued searching. By Wednesday, some women told me they saw clothes and sandals resembling my son’s near the expressway,” Lawal said.
Upon reaching the location by motorcycle, he found his son’s dismembered body.
“I met my son’s corpse. His head, two wrists, heart, and private parts had been chopped off,” he said tearfully.
Following the police’s directive, Wahab was buried, but Lawal continued gathering information on his own. Eventually, he learned that vigilantes had earlier stopped a man covered in blood around the time Wahab went missing. The suspect claimed he had slaughtered a dog for a traditional Ogun Ajobo festival and was released.
Lawal later identified the suspect and alerted police, who arrested Omikansola. During questioning, the suspect allegedly confessed to killing the teenager under the instruction of a traditionalist, Serefusi.
“Serefusi is the head of Agemo worshippers in the area,” Lawal said. “The suspect confessed that he was scared to kill the boy, but Serefusi encouraged him.”
Lawal called on the Ogun State Government and law enforcement agencies to ensure justice is served, expressing fears that Serefusi’s alleged influence could derail the case.
“I don’t want my son’s death to be in vain,” he said. “We need justice.”
As of press time, the suspects remained in police custody, and no official statements had been obtained from them.
In a similar development, the Anambra State Police Command recently arrested a female suspect, Somtochukwu Nwafor, over the murder of a pregnant nurse, whose mutilated body was buried in a soakaway pit in Ogbunike, Oyi LGA.
