By OKOSUN DENNIS
The Zone 2 Command of the Nigerian Police, Onikan was thrown into confusion yesterday when two cult members confessed to newsmen how they killed rival cult members, cut their hands and sell it to native doctors for N5,000 for ritual purposes.
The suspects, Oluwaseun Odueh, aka Cleff; and Wasiu Adejumo, aka Bomber, are both members of the Eiye Confraternity arrested by the Zonal Intervention Squad at Ibogun area of Ogun state.
Also paraded with the cult members who admitted being armed robbers too, were the three herbalists, a traditional ruler, who purchased the hands from the cultist.
The herbalists identified as Ifatona Akanni, aka Ajana Oro; Oko Musa and Isiaka Ajani.
They also confessed to our reporter that before they were arrested, had bought seven hands from Oluwaseun and his fellow members, each was bought for N5,000
Giving a gory details of their victims they cut their hands, Oluwaseun told National Daily that those they have killed were one Tunde, whom he explained was beheaded at the Cherubim and Seraphim Church Railway Line, Ogba Ayo, Ijoko, in 2016, with his two hands cut off.
He also mentioned one Lateef, Kehinde and Yinka, who were decimated at Ijoko area between 2016 and January 2017. The hands of the men were also cut off and sold to the her.
The police said on May 28, 2017, three men were also killed at Candozo Hotel, Fadahunsi, Ijoko, around 8pm, while in June 2017, two people were killed at Ogba Ayo Junction and Agoro Junction, Ijoko, with their hands missing.
One of the suspected cult members, Odueh, said all the victims were members of the Aiye Confraternity, a rival cult, adding that they were killed during reprisals.
He said, “Supremacy clashes between the cults started about six years ago in Ijoko. The Aiye cult killed our members, Godogodo, Fele, Callous and others. Each time they killed them, they cut off their hands. We had to retaliate by doing the same thing to them.
“Initially, we were throwing away the body parts. But when we realised that we needed money for our activities, we decided to make enquiries on what we could do with the body parts. That was how we started cutting off their hands and selling them. I have been involved in the murder of four members of the rival cult.”
Oluwaseun, 32, said he was compelled to join the cult group as a result of the oppression he suffered as an undergraduate Ogun State. He added that he joined the gang in his community after living school.
The second suspect, Adejumo, 30, on his part admitted being an Internet fraudster (yahoo yahoo), and was part of the gang that killed two members of the Aiye cult he identified as Kehinde and Lekan Welder.
He explained, “We killed Kehinde and Lekan Welder because they killed our members and cut off their hands. They killed Fele (Sunday) and Callous, a final year student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. They also killed Godogodo and Ratio. We sell the hands to herbalists,” he added.
On his part, one of the herbalists, Ajani, who is the Baale of Ososun village, in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, explained that the cult members introduced themselves to him as land speculators, but as they deepened discussions, they later brought two hands to him for sale which he bought for N10,000.
However, the Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, Zone 2 Command, superintendent Dolapo Badmos, said “Odueh was arrested on August 23 by the ZIS team during a patrol at about 2pm in the Ibogun area of Ogun State.
“On interrogation, he confessed to belonging to the Eiye Confraternity and said he was also a member of an armed robbery gang. We subsequently arrested other members of the gang.
“The police recovered three locally-made cut-to-size guns, seven live cartridges, and human parts processed into concoctions and powder for fetish used from the suspects.
SP Badmos added that the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Adamu Ibrahim, has ordered that the suspects should be arraigned in court to face prosecution.