In the Owode-Egba region of Ogun State, a 40-year-old man named Abdullahi Azeez is said to have been murdered by Friday Odeh, 21, and Poso Idowu, 20, two suspected internet fraudsters who are also referred to as Yahoo boys.
Akahi News learned that the suspects admitted that the ritual was prescribed to them by a single herbalist, Arab Money, whom they claimed to have contacted on Facebook.
SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the state Police Public Relations Officer, claims that on June 9, 2022, a relative of the victim filed a complaint at the Owode-Egba divisional police headquarters. The family member claimed that the victim had left his home in the Kobape area on June 8 and never returned.
Oyeyemi said in a statement that Lanre Bankole, the Commissioner of Police (CP), instructed the State Criminal Investigation Department’s anti-kidnapping unit to take over the investigation and solve the mystery of the man’s sudden disappearance following the police report.
The SP Taiwo Opadiran-led team then began a technical and intelligence-based investigation under the direction of the CP. On September 22, 2022, they reached Friday Abinya Odeh’s hideout, where the victim’s SIM card was found.
Three months after they were alleged to have committed the crime, the men were taken into custody at their hideout in Owode-Egba.
However, during interrogation, the suspects admitted that they kidnapped the victim on June 8, 2022, at approximately 7:30 p.m., took him to the bush, killed him, and cut him up.
They also admitted that the ritual was prescribed to them by a single herbalist, Arab Money, whom they claimed to have contacted on Facebook.
Oyeyemi stated, “All efforts to recover the victim’s remains proved unsuccessful, as the suspects claimed to have disposed of them.”
Additionally, he claimed that the Commissioner of Police had mandated that the suspects be brought before a court after an investigation had concluded.
In a related development, members of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s Ibadan Zonal Command have arrested two siblings, Lateef Afeez Abiodun and Lateef Abdullahi Olalekan, along with 24 others, in Ibadan, Oyo State, for allegedly engaging in internet-related fraudulent activities.
They were arrested in the Apete area of Ibadan on the basis of actionable intelligence compiled by the commission, according to a statement issued by Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity.
The remaining individuals in question are Awotunde Joseph Sunday, Ojekunle Ifakorede Apesinola, Oladepo Kayode Samuel, Emmanuel Michael Blessing, Shittu Hassan Taiwo, Olubanji Michael Remilekan, Bakari Ibrahim Oluwatosin, Nafiu Hassan Ayomide, Shittu Toheeb Ife, Kehinde Abiodun, Ibi
Lawal Ayomide Alani, Olayiwola David Olateju, Quincy Okonma, Omotayo Bright Happiness, Okunlaja Joshua Opeyemi, Olasantan Adewola Seyifunmi, John Uroko Amuta, Olaoye Ifasola Ifasegun, and Ayomide Adeleke Olamilekan round out the group of individuals.
According to Uwujaren, the suspects’ possessions include a car, laptops, and exotic phones.