A grieving father in Ogun State, Olumide Lawal, has called for justice after suspected ritualists brutally killed and dismembered his 16-year-old son, Wahab Lawal.
Lawal, a commercial driver, told PUNCH Metro how his son went missing on July 21 in the Igbile Ijebu area. Two days later, police found the boy’s decomposed body on the roadside with several parts, including his head, wrists, heart, and genitals, cut off.
“They killed my son and chopped off his head, two wrists, heart, and private parts. I want the government to give us justice. My son’s death must not be in vain,” Lawal said.
According to the Ogun State Police Command, Wahab’s body was found on July 23. Officers later arrested two suspects, Salawu Omikansola and Serefusi Agemo, in connection with the crime.
Lawal said he began his own search when his mother told him Wahab had not returned home.
“I left Ijebu-Ode immediately and searched everywhere with my mother,” he said.
After days of searching, some women from the Igbile community told him they had seen clothes and sandals that looked like Wahab’s. When Lawal followed them to the spot, he found his son’s lifeless body.
“The sight broke me. I immediately reported it to the police. They told me to go ahead and bury him,” he said.
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Lawal did not stop there. He continued to ask questions in the community and soon heard that vigilantes had stopped a man with blood on his clothes on the night Wahab went missing.
“I was told that the man claimed he killed a dog for someone celebrating Ogun Ajobo, so they let him go. Someone pointed the man out to me. I told the police, and they arrested him,” Lawal said.
Lawal said that during a police investigation, the suspect confessed that a traditionalist named Serefusi ordered him to carry out the killing.
“He said Serefusi encouraged him to go ahead with the killing despite his fears. He also told the police how they dismembered my son’s body,” Lawal said.
Lawal expressed concern that the case could be influenced due to Serefusi’s powerful position in the community as the head of the Agemo worshippers.
“I’m beginning to hear that Serefusi has powerful people backing him. That’s why I’m begging the government and everyone who can help to make sure justice is done,” he pleaded.