Man rapes, kills Kwara trader for money ritual, burns corpse

The police in Kwara State have arrested a suspect, Atolagbe Yemi Oje, for allegedly raping and killing a mother of one for ritual purposes.

The victim, Mayowa Ajiboye, is a palm oil seller and resident of Omu-Aran area of the state.

She was allegedly raped to death, her corpse burnt and the remains dumped inside a river by the suspect.

Speaking on the incident weekend, the state Commissioner of Police, Victor Olaiya, described the suspect as “a monster” and the act as “barbaric”.

According to him, the victim initially paid N1,600 to the suspect last November to help fetch firewood in the forest to cook her palm fruit which he refused to supply.

Olaiya said on February 22, 2024,  the victim and her young daughter, Ope, went to fetch firewood in the bush and met Oje who, upon sighting them, immediately joined them in gathering the firewood.

“He asked the deceased’s daughter to carry some of the firewood to where it will be used to prepare the palm fruit and asked the mother (deceased) to follow him inside the bush to gather more so he can perfect his sinister motive.

“After they have both gone far into the bush, the suspect suddenly held both legs of the deceased from behind while she was receiving a phone call and fell her down. But she managed to use the stick in her hand to hit the suspect on his neck in defence.

“He collected the stick and used it to hit her severely on the head and she fell unconscious. He then raped her, cut some hair from her vagina, clean the semen and blood from her private parts with white handkerchief for money ritual purpose, slaughter her with her cutlass and set her remains on fire before dragging the burnt body to a river to conceal it,” he said.

The CP submitted that the suspects hid the deceased’s phone in the bush and threw away the sim card and battery, adding that Oje confessed to killing the woman after raping her to avoid being exposed.

The police boss said investigation into the case was ongoing and the suspect would be charged as soon as the investigation was concluded.