» Ritual Killers: One-Chance Operators Devise New Strategies «

Mr. Fajemidagba Foluso is an elder in the Christ Apostolic
Church, CAC, Mowe in the Obafemi Owode Local
Government Area of Ogun State. Foluso who recently had a
close shave with death in the hands of persons suspected
to be ritual killers, narrated his ordeal to Vanguard Metro.
According to him, he boarded an inter-state bus at Mowe
on Tuesday November 24, 2015, intending to alight at
Redeemed Bus-Stop. After paying the N30 fare demanded
by the conductor, the bus which picked seven other
passengers, sped off.
Instead of stopping at the Redeemed Camp Bus-Stop as
earlier agreed , the driver headed for the Ogere interchange.
It was at this point that the passengers became
apprehensive and demanded to know where the driver was
taking them to.
Their questions were rebuffed by the speeding driver who
instead, ensured that the windows were securely closed.
The unfortunate passengers were allegedly striped half-
Unclad and dispossessed of cash and personal belongings
before being transferred to a waiting van at the Ogere
interchange.
Elder Foluso who spoke in an emotion-laden voice, said
one of the victims, a boy who was going to write an
examination on that fateful day, struggled with their
abductors until he was gunned down. Undeterred by the sad
end of the boy, the gangsters allegedly carried his corpse
along with them until the seven abducted persons were
transferred into a fully air-conditioned van which was
stationed at the Oghere interchange, ostensibly awaiting
the arrival of the “loot”.
Recalling what transpired on that fateful day, Elder Foluso
said: ‘’All the seats in the van had been removed and we
were forced to sit on the floor for the continuation of the
journey to an unknown destination. At a point, the vehicle
veered off the expressway into a thick forest. But before
we left the expressway, we saw some police check points
and cried aloud for help but to our greatest surprise, our
abductors started exchanging pleasantries with the
uniformed policemen.
At a particular illegal check point, some of the policemen
whom we sought assistance from retorted, ‘help ko, help ni,
abeg follow them to wherever they are taking you to.
That’s your own luck…’ The unfriendly attitude of the
policemen heightened our fears. We knew at that point that
danger was lurking around the corner hence we resorted to
seeking God’s intervention.
The journey inside the forest took almost three hours
before we arrived at a building located on the rock. As soon
as we alighted from the vehicle, a man came out from the
building to exchange pleasantries with one of our
abductors. He spoke in Yoruba language, ‘’Melo l’é ko wa
l’óte yi’’
? (How many did you bring this time around ?). ‘’Seven
plus one dead body’’.
This response sparked off an argument as the man
shouted, ‘’Ki ni mo fe fi oke se? Owo meje ni maa san o
(what am I doiAng with a corpse, I will pay for seven only).
He took a headcount to be sure that seven people were
actually brought into their den. The vehicle left
immediately the man paid an undisclosed sum of money to
our abductors. We were later divided into two groups but
three of us were put in a room”.
Continuing, he said; ‘’A lady among us was wounded
severally for struggling with them. On my part, I kept
shouting the name of Jesus. It came to a point that one of
the ritualists shouted from within and ordered me to keep
quiet. ‘Ta l’o n pa’riwo ni’beyen,’ (Who is making noise
over there?), he barked. I continued shouting the name of
Jesus quietly and few minutes later, one of the aides who
pitied by condition, offered to assist me to escape.
He asked me to pretend like somebody who was pressed
and wanted to answer the call of nature, Luckily, this
strategy worked out. The guy asked me to take my
clothes and follow him. We trekked for about an hour before
he showed me a bush path that led to a village and left. I
trekked for another one hour before I got a motorcycle
which took me to the expressway where I stood for a while
before getting a bus to Lagos.
It was during the journey that I realised we were far away
from Elelubo, Ibadan. I was finally reunited with my family
and church members. That was how a journey of about
three minutes ended up in 24 hours”. The plight of Elder
Foluso is synonymous with what hundreds of innocent
people go through on daily basis in the hands of “one-
chance” abductors and ritualists along the ever-busy
Lagos/Ibadan expressway.
VM investigations show that one-chance operators along
the expressway, have adopted new tactics to trap and rob
innocent commuters. Some of the unlucky commuters are
sold at give-away prices to prospective buyers who in
turn, sell them off to ritual killers who slaughter them and
sell to occultists and other evil persons.
VM learnt that the amount paid is negotiable and is
dependent on the age and sex of the victims.
Similarly, delicate parts of the body like the breasts,
tongues, private parts and nails allegedly attract higher
prices. VM further gathered that since some states in the
South-West, especially Lagos, introduced security
measures to stem the activities of one-chance operators,
they have shifted their base to the Lagos/Ibadan
expressway. This allegation has however being denied by
the Police.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Ogun State, Mr.
Muyiwa Adejobi insisted that the story of Elder Foluso is a
mere rumour. “It as a rumour and was not reported to the
Command. The Command has a team on anti- kidnapping/
cultism, headed by a Superintendent of Police but people
think we are not working. We have about 15 similar cases
which were reported to us within a space of one week.
But none of them was able to present facts to buttress
their stories. So, such cases can be regarded as either
framed or cooked up to curry favour from the public. I
expect the victims to intimate the Police with such
developments so that we can go and comb the area, but
nothing of such was reported.
It is impossible to be kidnapped without informing the
Police after your return.
Unfortunately, people only go to church for thanksgiving or
report their experiences to the media. We call on those
who claim to have experienced such to come up and
present their facts,” he said.