A trainee herbalist, Ifagbenga Taiwo, has been taken into custody by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly slaughtering his 41-day-old son for ritual purposes in the Keesi area of Adatan, Abeokuta, the state capital.
Newsmen gathered that the incident occurred on Monday after the baby’s mother, Raimat Wasilat, laid him on a bed while washing clothes outside their home.
Sources in the area disclosed in a video clip obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday that the mother returned inside after washing only to find her son’s lifeless body with a slit throat.
A resident of the area, Mrs. Adewumi, narrated in the video that the mother’s cry for help alerted neighbours, prompting them to gather at her home.
She explained that upon entering the room, it was discovered that the suspected assailant had entered through the wooden window, slit the infant’s throat, and left him in a pool of blood.
Adewumi said, “I was hearing some noise and we came to this house to check what was happening. It was when we entered the room that we realised someone had entered through the window and slit the throat of the baby.
“The mother was washing clothes outside at this spot (pointing to the spot) before she went inside and discovered the lifeless body of her son who was just 41 days old.”
Another resident, Mukaila Olaide, identified as the father of the infant’s mother, explained that they were drawn by the noise which prompted them to visit the house and find the slaughtered infant.
Olaide narrated, “We were sitting some distance away from the house when we heard a noise. It was the noise that led us to rush down to the house only to discover that the boy had been slaughtered.
“That was all we saw. The police had come to pick up the mother and the husband to the station.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident in a telephone conversation with our correspondent on Tuesday.
She stated that the infant’s mother accused her husband of the gruesome murder, prompting the police to arrest him.
She narrated, “At about 1400hrs, the police received a report from the Iteesi Itoko area in Abeokuta regarding the slaughter of a two-month-old infant, Ifakorede Ajani, inside the room where his mother had placed him on a bed.
“The mother, Raimat Wasilat, from Keesi, strongly suspected her husband, Ifagbenga Taiwo, who is training to be a herbalist. She alleges that he intended to use the child’s blood for rituals.
“The suspect has been detained, the crime scene was investigated, and the body was transported to the hospital for autopsy.”
Odutola said an “investigation is underway to discover the details of this horrific act.”
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