The state Commandant of the
NSCDC, Mr. Ayinla Adeyinka, who spoke through the command’s Public Relations
Officer, Mr. Ayodele Bello, in an interview with journalists in Ilorin, the
Kwara State capital on Monday, said the agency visited the scene following a
complaint by a victim, Mr. Muminu Abdulrahman.
He explained that Abdulrahman
had reported on Saturday that he had been extorted of N5m by the suspects.
According to Punch, the
NSCDC team discovered many shrines and other gory objects at the scene.
He said two suspects, Mr.
Kazeem Absdulsalam (54), of Omu-Aran, in
the Irepodun LGA, and Mr. Adamu Hussein (36), of Marafa Oja, in the Ilorin East
LGA, Kwara State were apprehended at the scene.
The NSCDC boss claimed that
Abdulsalam had confessed to ritual activities and scams through money doubling.
Adeyinka said,
“It was a case of ritual
activities and money doubling under false pretences and extortion. The
complainant filed the case on March 24, 2018. He said about N5m had been
extorted from him.
“When we got there, we saw
some gory scenes at the shrines. Among the
things we saw were the Alaragbo shrine, Abiku shrine, Iguni shrine, Baba Esu
shrine, Baba Agba shrine and a lot of other things. The sight was appalling.
“From our investigation, it
was clear that they had been carrying out ritual activities and collecting
money from their victims under false pretences.”
Adeyinka said the command,
in collaboration with the state government, was working hard to get to the root
of the incident.
The NSCDC boss also warned
members of the public to avoid falling prey to fraudsters and ritual killers.
“Investigation is still
ongoing; the complainant is with us. We are still unravelling the mysteries
surrounding the incident. The prime suspect, Mr. Kazeem Abdulsalam, confessed
that he asked the complainant to provide N280,000 to appease the gods.
“The complainant fell
victim to them because he had been entreating the gods through them before now.
Maybe he was able to record breakthroughs in the past and he still believed he
could do it again.”
Some members of the
community said they were surprised at the discovery, adding that they always
noticed exotic cars being driven into the area.
A resident, who identified
himself simply as Tunde, said he did not know that the place was a den of
ritual killers.
He said,
“I have been wondering why
big people always go to that place. They go in big cars. We did not know that
the place is a den of ritual killers.”
One of the suspects,
Abdulsalam, denied that he was a ritual killer.
He explained that the
complainant had told him that he (Abdulrahman) did a money ritual and he was
afraid that he could die because of it.
He said the complainant
sought his spiritual help to avert the impending death.
The suspect also claimed
that Abdulrahman sought his service for good contracts and money doubling.
He denied extorting N5m
from the victim, adding that he demanded N280,000 from him.
Abdulsalam said he usually
helped people who had marital, family and social challenges, adding that the
shrines were not for destructive purposes.
According to him, the
shrines were to provide a good location for people shooting films and home
videos.
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