Ondo Residents Stone Policemen For Rescuing Suspected Ritual Killer

Residents of Shasa community in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Thursday mobbed an unidentified man suspected to be a ritual killer.

It was gathered that the suspect was loitering suspiciously along the Akure-Abuja Expressway, near Shasa Market, with a big bag that allegedly contained human parts.

An eyewitness said when the man was stopped and interrogated by some residents, he could not give a satisfactory answer.

It was learnt that following his inability to satisfy them, the residents forcefully collected the bag from him and opened it.

Some items suspected to be human parts and charms were said to have been found in the bag.

The eyewitness said, “When the people around found some items covered with blood in the bag, they beat up the man. As he was about to be set ablaze, policemen came to the scene and rescued him.”

A police source said as the policemen from Oba Ile Police Division arrived at the scene, residents stoned them to prevent the rescue of the suspect.

The policemen were said to have dispersed the crowd and whisked the suspect away.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Femi Joseph, said no human part was found in the bag of the suspect.

He said, “The suspect’s identity is unknown for now because he is still unconscious as a result of the beating he got from the mob. It took the intervention of our men to save him. Our men were also stoned.

“We did not find any human part in his bag, but we saw a big stone covered by sawdust, a bloodstained cloth and some charms. We are yet to confirm whether the blood is human blood or not.”

The PPRO added that the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Gbenga Adeyanju, had directed the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department to take over the investigation.