Suspected ritual killers murder teenage girls in Ondo community

The people of Iju in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State are yet to come to terms with the reality of the brutal killing of two of their children by yet unknown assailants.

Till date, the sleepy town still wears a mournful look, as the people wonder what could have led to the death of two teenagers identified as Oyinkansola Owoeye and Folashade Bello who were reportedly murdered in a gruesome manner.

The parents of the two young girls are still in shock days after the incident. The death of the two teenagers still remains a mystery, as no one in the town could confirm how they actually met their tragic end.

The state police command has vowed to unravel the cause of the killing and the identities of their killers. But the families of the two murdered teenagers are keeping silent on the development.

In spite of efforts by the police authorities in the state to get rid of cultism and other crimes through the establishment of the State Rapid Squad (SRS), which is saddled with the responsibility of arresting members of secret cult groups, ritual killers still operate in some parts of the state, and one of the towns where cultism is at its peak is Iju town.

Oyinkansola and Folasade were described as good friends who were known by almost all the people of the town as they did things in common during their lifetime. On the day they died, it was gathered that they went out together as usual, not knowing that they would not return home again.

It was gathered that suspected ritualists, who were apparently returning from a shrine in the town, killed the two teenagers. It was not certain whether the girls were aware of the rituals in the town on that fateful day, but the reporter gathered that there are rules that guide some rituals in the town.

A source in the town told the reporter that the two girls were returning from the farm when they met the suspected ritualists.

It was learnt that the parents of the two girls and other relatives, after an intensive search, eventually found the lifeless bodies by the roadside.

The source said there were machete cuts all over the bodies of the girls, adding that their blood had been drained, indicating that the duo might have been murdered by the suspected ritualists. No one has been able to confirm the cause of the girl’s death, however.

Since the incident, the entire community of Iju has been thrown into sorrow. As residents mourn the death of the girls they express worry about the safety of other residents of the town.

The police have assured residents that the perpetrators would be fished out. It was gathered that a crack team of detectives had been deployed to the town.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Isaac Eke, who spoke through the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Wole Ogodo, said the reason for the teenagers’ killing by yet unidentified assailants had not been ascertained, even as he promised that the police would fish out the killers.

He said: “We received information that the two girls, Oyinkansola and Folasade went to the bush to fetch firewood where they met their untimely death. Our detectives have visited the scene of the crime while photographs of the corpses were taken, and they had been removed and deposited at the mortuary of the State Specialist Hospital for autopsy.”

He noted that no arrest had been made on the incident, noting, however, that the command had commenced investigation.

He appealed to the people of the state to furnish the command with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the criminals behind the incident.