Oke Baale, Idiroko Meta: Osogbo’s growing undoing

Oke Baale, Idiroko Meta: Osogbo’s growing undoing

In recent times, residents of Oke Baale and Idiroko Meta in Osogbo, a great percentage of whom are students of the University of Osun, have been unhappy and disturbed about strange discoveries; horrendous killings of students of the university and the dismemberment of their corpses for money-making ritual purposes within their domains. OLUWOLE IGE reports that the latest of such sent the students of the university on rampage. And the students are now living in frustration and fear.

STUDENTS are now living in frustration and fear.

The establishment of the Osun State University (UNIOSUN) in Osogbo by the administration of the state’s former governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola elicited joy and excitement among the people of Osun state in 2006. The reason obviously was the broadening of the state’s education frontiers and the vast opportunities that come with the establishment of such institutions of higher learning within a community.

However, the lack of hostel facilities in the university by virtue of the university’s design may have inadvertently exposed some of the students, who secured accommodation within the host community of Oke Baale and Idiroko Meta to various dangers.

For some years back, few of the students have been allegedly kidnapped and brutally killed by ritualists, desperately looking for human body parts, allegedly used in the preparation of money ritual voodoo. Nigerian Tribune learnt that some ritualists and their accomplices, in Osogbo and neighbouring communities in the state seems to believe that UNIOSUN provides a pool of “human material” for money ritual sacrifices and other fetish preparations.

Findings indicate that mostly involved in these deadly acts are some religious clerics, who, with the collaboration of herbalists helping desperate individuals, connive to produce some charms with the intent to spin money.

The case of a 400 level female student of the institution identified as Miss Rofiat Damilola Adebisi, who was declared missing by her friends, after attending a religious programme at Ikoyi town, off Ibadan-Ife expressway in December 2016 is one of the common cases. After some days of frantic search by friends and family members, her corpse was discovered at Iragabiji community in Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State and the police after series of investigations were able to apprehend her killers.

Two suspects; Elijah Oyebode (22), and Yusuf Ajibade (25) were arrested by the Osun State Police Command for allegedly killing her and were remanded in prison custody at Ilesa by a Magistrate Court sitting in Osogbo, the state capital based on the gravity of the allegations against them.

Oyebode, a commercial driver had earlier confessed that he hypnotised the deceased who had boarded his vehicle from Ipetu Ijesa to Osogbo, explaining that he subsequently delivered her to the herbalist identified as Mr Jelili, who paid him N10, 000 for the job, adding that the herbalist had given him a charm and told him to bring any young lady who had not given birth to a child.

The second accused person, Yusuf Oyebode, allegedly received one Apple I-phone 5 valued at N100, 000 stolen from the deceased after she was killed.

Similarly late last year, four students of UNIOSUN were also declared missing and up till the time of filing this report, they have not been found, though the Commissioner of Police in Osun, Mr Fimihan Adeoye told Nigerian Tribune that investigation was ongoing to find the missing undergraduates.

But, the fresh case of another student, Oluwafemi Timilehin Shonibare, infuriated students of the institution, who took to the major streets of Osogbo on Wednesday in a violent protest to denounce the kidnap and killings of their colleagues for money ritual.

The decomposing corpse of the final year student of Osun State University, who was declared missing on the June 26, 2017 by his colleagues was discovered in a bush, located in Osogbo, the state capital.

Saturday Tribune gathered that Shonibare’s decomposing body was found near the residence of an Islamic cleric identified as Sakariyau Abdulrofiu, whose alleged accomplices included Ibrahim Ayuba and Yusuf Aliu.

The suspects, who reside at Olorunkemi Street, near Oke Baale in Idiroko Meta area confessed to the police to have used a pestle to smash Shonibare’s head and later dismembered him. The head of their victim was roasted and his palms kept inside a black clay pot found in a mosque around Jafafia area of Idiroko Meta, few kilometres from the main campus of UNIOSUN.

Rampaging students of the school stormed the mosque and the building where the swollen body of Shonibare was found and razed it down

Some residents of the community, who spoke to Nigerian Tribune stated that they were oblivious of the fact that some ritualists co-habitate with them in the area.

A resident, who identified himself as Segun Omoyele said, “We never knew that such things could happen in our community. We were surprised and we want the government to provide us with more security in this place.”

The Baale of Idiroko Meta, UNIOSUN area, Osogbo, Chief Adedokun Muritala called for more security in the area, noting that this would give residents, the students included, the peace of mind needed to go about their daily activities.

According to him, “we have reported this issue to the police and the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun. We are collaborating with the police to beef up security in our community. But we want the government to give us a police post in our community because this will go a long way in preventing crime and creating fear in the minds of hoodlums and ritualists who may want to kidnap and kill innocent students, whose population is high here. This will also give the people of our community peace of mind and guarantee that there is adequate security in this area”, he remarked.

Meanwhile, the trio of Sakariyau Abdulrofiu, Ibrahim Ayuba and Yusuf Aliu were arraigned by the police in the Magistrate Court, sitting in Osogbo and subsequently remanded in the prison.

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