Ritualist flees with head, hands of hawker

A suspected ritualist on Saturday murdered a 55-years old woman, named Latifat Oyebode hawking food around a community in Ile-Ife, Osun State. The Nation learnt.

Our correspondent gathered that the food seller who was living around L. A Primary School Street, Alapata area of Modakeke always hawk Ekuru (Yoruba native food) around Modakeke, Ile-Ife and its environs.

It was learnt that the yet-to-be-identified ritualist on Saturday morning lured the food seller into a house at Ogbingbin area, Remo of Ile-Ife, on the pretense that he wanted to buy food. The suspected ritualist killed her for ritual purposes.

A resident of the area, who pleaded not to be known, told The Nation that, “the house where Iya Elekuru was killed was rented by a herbalist. The woman was lured inside the house and was killed. The herbalist cut her head and two hands. When the people around noticed that she was not coming out, they forced their way inside the house. The herbalist fled with the head and two hands of Iya Elekuru.

“We saw the remains of the food seller on the floor in the pool of blood. This angered the youths and they started to destroy the house. The security operatives have carried the corpse of the woman away,” he added.

When our correspondent contacted the spokesperson of Osun State Police Command, Yemisi Opalola on Sunday, she confirmed the incident.