The Ogun State Police Command has arrested two brothers for allegedly kidnapping a woman and her nine-year-old son for ritual purposes.
The suspects were arrested following information received by policemen at Oja Odan Divisional Headquarters that the two brothers were allegedly in negotiations over the phone to sell a human being dead or alive based on the buyer’s preference for money ritual.
According to a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the supposed buyer informed the Baale of the community about the intention of the suspects, and the traditional ruler immediately notified the police.
“The supposed buyer was advised by the Police to play along with them in order to save the would-be victim. “On the 27th of December 2022, the suspects called the supposed buyer […] and informed him that they have two human beings, a woman and her male child for sale.
“They negotiated and settled for N600,000 as the price for the two persons. On the 29th of December 2022, one of the suspects […] went to Ilaro and lured his 45-year-old woman friend […] to follow him to Oja Odan with her nine-year-old son […] in order to celebrate New Year with his father.
“The woman innocently agreed to follow him, and along the road, they stopped over to pick the second suspect […].”
Oyeyemi added that the two suspects, from there, took the victims to the Igbo Obe area of Oja Odan to meet the supposed buyer, leading to their arrest by policemen in collaboration with some youths in the area around 12:30 am, while the woman and her son were rescued.
The two suspects have confessed to the commission of the crime, according to the police command.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, ordered that the suspects be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation and diligent prosecution.
