Hyacinth Chinweuba
The Lagos Police Command has disentombed four corpses dumped in a septic tank at Ikorodu in the outskirts of Lagos state for autopsy.
The action followed a complaint from Ikorodu residents that some unidentified persons approached one Alhaji Yakubu Musa and Alhaji Hassan Umaru both operators of Bureau De Change at Benson area, Ikorodu and informed them that they have a relation who returned from overseas and need to sell 10,000 US Dollars.
They initially requested that payment will be made in a Bank at Ikorodu but on getting to the Bank, the suspects moved the operators to an unknown destination and started demanding for ransom from their friends and relatives.
Despite paying the sum of One Million, Six Hundred Thousand Naira as ransom, the abductors refused to release the victims and nothing more was heard from them.
The victims phones remained switched off.
The Commissioner of Police Lagos State CP Zubairu Muazu, however, detailed the Commander, Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) to carryout an in depth investigation into the matter with a view of rescuing the victims and apprehending the suspects.
Thereafter, operatives from SARS Ipakodo base led by SP Godfrey Soriwei arrested three suspects, namely; Oluwatosin Olanrewaju 40 years old, Mayowa Olawuni a.k.a General and Babatunde Idris a.k.a Aloma. The suspects confessed to the commission of the crime and led operatives to their den at Ikorodu where they dumped the corpses in a septic tank.
In addition, two (2) locally made single barrel guns with five live cartridges, one locally made gun with three ammunition, one locally made revolver pistol with three(3) live ammunition, one cutlass, one axe and some charms were recovered from them.
According to DSP Bala Elkana, “Investigation revealed that the suspects had at various times used the abandoned company as their den, where all their targets are killed and dumped in the sceptic tank. As part of the investigation, four decomposed bodies have been recovered from the septic tank for autopsy”
The suspects confessed to have killed the other two rival cult members and dumped them in the septic tank before killing the two Bureau de change operators.
They are currently assisting the police in the arrest of the other fleeing members of the gang. Investigation is ongoing, suspects will be charged to Court as soon as investigation is completed.