A man accused of engaging in money ritual has been handed over to the police by residents of Iresi Street, in the Orile-Agege area of Lagos.
The suspect, who was identified only as Mohammed, was alleged to have moved around the area on Saturday, pretending to be mentally-challenged.
PUNCH Metro learnt that a woman, Mrs. Olawumi Alani, who sells confectionery, alerted her neighbour, Mrs. Grace Ogedengbe, to his presence.
It was gathered that Mohammed initially pretended he understood only Hausa and declined response when Alani requested to know who he was looking for.
Our correspondent learnt that he later confided in Ogedengbe, who also speaks Hausa, that he needed human parts and was directed to the area by a friend.
He was reportedly chased away by the women. But on Sunday, he appeared again and was challenged by some youths who recovered some charms from him and handed him over to the police.
Alani said, “He was here on Saturday, looking inside houses. He later came to buy a sachet of water. I told my neighbour, Mama Benita (Ogedengbe), that the man was just pretending to be mad. Shortly after, he approached me and spoke in Hausa. I called Mama Benita, who understands his language to speak with him. He asked her that he was looking for a place in our area, where he could get human blood and parts. We told him to leave or else he would be lynched.
“When I came back from church on Sunday, I saw him again hanging around the street. He was in a brown clothes, different from what he wore on Saturday. I became more suspicious and alerted some boys. At that moment, he said in English that he would implicate me if he was arrested. Charms, and a ring were recovered from him and he was taken to the station.”
Ogedengbe said she was astounded when Mohammed told her of his mission in the area.
She said, “He said he was directed here by a friend. I was shocked when he explained that it was blood of a child that he actually needed and that he wanted to use it to make money. We did not take him serious until he came back on Sunday.”
Another resident, who identified himself only as Dammy, said the charms were discovered after they ordered the suspect to UnCloth.
He said, “We were afraid of touching him because we did not know what he had on him. We ordered him to UnCloth and that was when we saw different kinds of charms on his body. We took him to the Elere Police Station.”
The Lagos State Police spokesperson, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident.
“There was a report of such nature. The man has been arrested and he is in custody. However, no human part was recovered from him. Investigations are still ongoing,” he said.
