A suspected cultist, Kayode Oreneye, on Wednesday confessed to killing a member of a rival cult, identified as Sakiru, in Ilaro town, Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State.
He said he severed the deceased palms and sold to a herbalist for N5,000.
The 27-year-old suspect made the confession while being paraded alongside 47 other suspected criminals for various offences at the Eleweran Police Headquarters in Abeokuta. He said he was a member of Aiye cult group.
He also told journalists that the late Sakiru belonged to a rival cult group, Eiye. He claimed that the deceased had attempted to kill him on three occasions but he escaped;
Mr Oreneye also claimed that the deceased had also killed three members of the Aiye cult group.
The suspect, father of two, confirmed that he shot and killed Shakiru at Library Junction, Ilaro, on February 12 in a reprisal attack.
“It is true that I shot and killed Shakiru, because he had killed three members of our (Aiye) cult group’.
“Again, he had made attempts on my life on three occasions but I was able to escape, and I had to strike before he would strike,” he declared.
In a related development, another alleged cult leader, Gbenga Ogunsanya, popularly known as Spartacus, was paraded with another member of his gang, Quam Olubodun. The duo and their members were reported to have killed more than nine persons, within a year.
Mr Ogunsanya, the cult leader, told journalists that he dropped out of secondary school. He said he belonged to Aiye cult group and he moved around the city of Abeokuta with a squad of 30 members, all armed with different weapons.
The suspect said his parents had consistently warned him about his wayward lifestyle but he never listened. But “now I regret not listening to their advice and finding myself in this mess.”
The Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, said the gang had unleashed terror on fun seekers at the popular Ori Omi fun spot, Ita Iyalode, Abeokuta on December 31, 2017 during crossover night.
He added that the suspected cult leader, who claimed to have been initiated into the cult group on May 30, 2017, was arrested on March 12 by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
Mr Iliyasu, however, called on authorities of hospitals and other medical centres in the state not to reject anyone with gunshot wound. He said they should endeavour to report such cases to the police immediately after the admission of such victim.
The commissioner warned that “owners of any medical centres / hospitals that reject victims of gunshot wounds will be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.”
