A 27-year man, identified as Friday Asuquo, on Friday shot at his friend, Kingsley Araino, with a pump-action gun, with intent to kill, following a disagreement that ensued between them as a result of N1,000 owed him.

According to the Anambra State police command’s spokesperson, SP Haruna Mohammed, the culprit had a misunderstanding with one Kingsley over one thousand naira debt.

Following the altercation, the suspect quickly rushed inside one City of Restoration Church, Amawbia, brought out a pump-action gun loaded with four live cartridges and allegedly shot the victim at his back.

Friday was immediately arrested, while the victim is already receiving treatment at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital.

Following the manhunt launched by the Oyo State Police Command to apprehend the culprits in connection with killings at the Akinyele axis of the state, the suspected serial killer of the innocent victims have confessed on how he was able to catch on his targets, Vanguard reports.

While parading the suspected criminals at the police headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan on Friday, one of the suspects, Sunday Sodipe (19 years), disclosed that a certain herbalist who he worked for, Adedokun Yinusa Ajani (50 years), was the one sending him on such assignments.

He explained that anytime he wanted to go for the operation, the herbalist would instruct him to kneel down in front of him and he (Ajani) would make some incantations and then put something on his tongue three times.

The suspected serial killer said whenever he located his victims, he would hit them with a shovel and when they laid in a pool of their blood, he would make some incantations and move around the body three times and then back it.

Sunday said he would back the body for about five minutes with his eyes closed before leaving the scene.

When asked if he was not afraid that anybody could come around while backing the body, the suspected serial killer said the herbalist had told him that nobody would come around during the period.

He said after the operation, he would return to the herbalist, who would make some incantations again.

He confessed that he had carried out five of such operations and anytime he returned to the herbalist, the 50-year-old would have bought food for him and would give him N500.

When asked for the reasons for the killings, Sunday said he didn’t know as it was the herbalist who was just sending him on such errands.

In his reaction, while speaking with journalist, the herbalist, whom Sodipe said usually send him on the killing spree, denied ever knowing him (Sodipe).

The herbalist said Sunday’s mother brought him to his house some time ago that he was a wayward child and he did some spiritual work for him.

He, however, said that after two months, she returned with the boy, asking him to learn how to become a herbalist.

“He had only spent six days with me when I told him to leave because I was not satisfied with his behaviour and it was not long after that that I was arrested by the police,” Ajani stated.

Earlier, the state Commissioner of Police, Joe Nwachukwu Enwonwu, had narrated how the police achieved the feat by arresting the suspects.

Enwonwu said the crimes coincided with the period he assumed office as the commissioner of police in the state and he immediately swung into action in a bid to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The police commissioner said the mobile phone of one of the victims was recovered from one Shehu Usman by the police,” and upon interrogation, the suspect denied his involvement in the crime but gave useful information which subsequently led to the arrest of Sodipe and Ajani.”

Enwonwu said the suspects were responsible for the killings of Wasilat Adeola, Barakat Bello, Grace Oshiagwu, Mojeed Tirimisiyu, who was just five years old, and the attack on Adeola Azeez and her daughter, Dolapo Oyeyemi, who both survived.

Recovered from the suspects are a hand shovel, a Techno mobile phone, an iPhone Xs Max and one itel phone.

Four other suspected ritualists were also arrested at Akinyele Local Government Area.

The main suspect, Abiodun Oladejo (35), was allegedly responsible for the killing of a woman, Oluwasayo Fagbemi, who was killed in front of her house at Sasa area on June 24, while washing plates at about 5:40 a.m.

Three other suspects were also arrested in connection with the killing and another attempted murder case.

While speaking, Olasoji confessed how he killed his victim with a stick and wiped her blood with a handkerchief for ritual purposes.

Also, among those paraded by the police was a suspected rapist, Idowu Ajayi, who allegedly raped a 42-year-old physically-challenged woman, Kemi Adeniji, with three other suspects who are still at large.

The suspect, however, denied participating in the criminal act, as he claimed he was in his shop when the incident occurred.

A 29-year-old man has paid the supreme price for telling his friend about a heavy sum his South Africa based elder brother sent to him for the completion of his (elder brother’s) housing project back home in Nigeria.

Abuchi Wisdom Nwachukwu, was allegedly murdered by Moses, his friend and colleague, after informing the latter that his elder brother had sent him the sum of N13 million to complete his housing project.

Nwachukwu, a native of Isiala-Mbano, Imo State, was allegedly hacked to death by Moses on January 7, 2020, during a night shift at the table water company where they worked in Auchi, Edo State, after which he took possession of Nwachukwu’s phone and ATM card.

Moses also went on to behead Nwachukwu’s lifeless body so that it would be recognized, dumping the headless body in a bush close to the company.

After getting rid of Nwachukwu, Moses took the latter’s phone and ATM card to some internet fraudsters in Auchi who helped him to withdraw the sum of N2.2 million from Nwachukwu’s account.

Thereafter, Moses approached various POS points in the city to withdraw various sums of money.

The police were puzzled when they Nwachukwu’s headless body but could not identify him. They took the body to the mortuary while Nwachukwu’s relatives in Imo State as well as his brother in South Africa worried about his sudden disappearance and their inability to reach him on the phone.

His South Africa based brother was said to have written a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, months after he could not locate his brother or hear from him. Operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), headed by Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, swung into action to unravel the mystery behind Nwachukwu’s disappearance.

It was gathered that weeks into their investigation IRT operatives were able to trace the POS transactions Moses did with Nwachukwu’s ATM cards to Benin, Ore and Auchi parts of Edo State.

They later arrested him in a hotel in Auchi where he was hiding.

Upon interrogation, Moses admitted killing Nwachukwu. He also led IRT operatives to arrest suspected internet fraudsters—Yusuf Sagiru, Tony Bright and Terence Okochukwu—as well as businessman Jahswill Ogbonnaya, who were said to have helped Moses to pull out the sum of N6 million from the account.

Upon interrogation, Moses a 27-year-old native of Auchi, said his friend’s ghost had been hunting him since the day he killed him.

The Auchi Polytechnic graduate of Mechanical Engineering said: “I work in a table water company in Abely area of Auchi, and I have been working in that company in the last four years.

“When Nwachukwu got a job in the factory, I was the person who taught him how to operate the machine, so we became very close friends.

“While we were working, Nwachukwu told me about his brother who lives in South Africa and how he has been sending money to build his house for him.

“He showed me the alert for the N13 million his brother had just sent to him, saying that he would be travelling to his village to carry out the project. I felt jealous and I decided to steal the money.

“Since we were friends, I tricked him and collected his phone password. I went through it and found the PIN for his ATM card.

“Few days before the day he would be travelling, we worked on the same shift. I lured him outside the company, stabbed him with a knife and killed him.

“I dragged his body into the bush, and because I don’t want people to recognise him easily, I cut off his neck and buried it. Then I took his ATM card to some fraudsters. I gave it to one Yusuf and told him that I needed to hack the account.

“We withdrew N2.2 million from the account. I had trouble with Yusuf because he and the people he brought in wanted to cheat me.

“I killed him on January 8, 2020 and travelled to Ore and Benin City. I stayed in several hotels and was carrying different women, but Nwachukwu’s spirit started disturbing me.

“Whenever I want to sleep, the boy’s spirit will appear to me and will be crying. The girls that were with me would run away, saying that I want to use them for money ritual.”

Source: The Nation.