The Osun State Police Command has arrested a 34-year-old herbalist, Saheed Adekunle, for allegedly killing a vulcaniser, Oderinde Sunday after collecting the sum of N400,000 from the deceased for ritual money making.
Sunday was said to have approached Adekunle for rituals that would enable him to become wealthy and the herbalist had billed him the sum of N4000,000, for the services, which he paid.
The deceased, who paid the herbalist the money since January, had waited till March without experiencing any sign of prosperity.
Against this backdrop, the deceased sought for a refund of the money he paid.
However, Adekunle reneged on his promise, which resulted in a fight between him and the deceased.
Adekunle, in the ensuing fight allegedly picked up a big stone while the deceased smashed the deceased on his head.
Not done with his bleeding client, the suspect was said to have taken a cable, with which he strangled Sunday to death.
On noticing that Sunday was dead, the suspect was said to have put his remains in a big bag and dumped it on Ibokun Road at OSBC area of the town.
Speaking with Saturday Tribune after his arrest, the herbalist confessed to the killing the deceased, saying his action was to stop him from asking him for the money he collected.
He said, “I prepare herbal concoctions and I travel to states to sell to clients. I learnt tailoring as a vocation.
“A vulcaniser, Sunday, came to me in December 2016 and told me that he wanted me to help him do charm to make him wealthy. I advised him to do something that would boost his business, but he insisted on money-making charm. So I told him that there was no problem, asking him to bring money to carry out the process. I didn’t know how to do such a charm; I only wanted to deceive him.
“Sunday told me that he had a piece of land that he would sell. After he sold the land, he brought N400,000 to me on Monday, March 6 and also came with someone, insisting that I signed a paper to indicate that I collected money from him.
“Two days after, on Wednesday, March 8, Sunday picked a quarrel with me that I had not prepared the charm. I said I would give him a charm to boost his business, but he did not agree. By then, I had already spent part of the money.
“We started fighting and I stepped outside my room, picked a heavy stone and hit Sunday on the head with it. He was backing me so he didn’t see me with the stone. He fell down, covered in his blood. I picked a wire and strangled him on the neck, after which I put his body in a big ‘Ghana-must-go’ bag that I had at home.
“I went to borrow a motorcycle from a neighbour on the pretext that I wanted to go out with it. I dragged the bag out and sought the assistance of a passerby to put it on the motorcycle because it was heavy. I tied the bag to the bike with a rope and took it to the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) Road where I dropped it at about 10.30a.m.
“I returned the bike to the owner and went to barb my hair. Unknown to me, some people noticed blood dripping from the bag when I was going with it and had gone round the neighbourhood, discussing it.
“As I returned from barber’s shop, a huge mob which had gathered descended on me, beating me and asking about what I put in the bag. I told them it was an animal I used to make sacrifice, but they didn’t listen to me. They forcefully broke my door and demanded to know what I kept in the room. They were about setting me ablaze when I was rescued by officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
“I was taken to the civil defence office, but was released to my father because of the level of injury inflicted on me by the mob. The officials asked him (my father) to bring me back the following Monday after I must have been treated. My father asked me severally to tell him what was in the bag, but I told him it was an animal.
“On Friday, March 10, policemen from Oke Bale Police Station came to my father and asked him to bring me to the station. When we got there, they started interrogating me and I confessed that I was the one who killed Sunday. The police had earlier recovered the body in the bag and had deposited it in the mortuary.
“It was after my arrest that I realised the gravity of my action. I have never done such a thing in my life. I believe it was the devil that used me. I know what I did was bad but I want to plead with the government to forgive me. I will never do such a thing again. My father started raining abuses on me when I confessed that it was actually a human I killed and put his body in a bag.”
Reacting to the incident, the State Police Commissioner, Olafimihan Adeoye, directed that the suspect be transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Osogbo, for further investigations.
