The Nation Newspaper

Tag: RITUAL

  • Ritual of amnesty

    •We seem to be witnessing pardon without sobriety, hinting at a status quo of restiveness

    Published pictures showing weapon-wielding young men, some of them in their underpants, in a public show of excitement during a ceremony on October 22 marking their acceptance of amnesty offered by the Rivers State Government, were thought-provoking because there was no sign of expected soberness.

    About 2,000 cultists who had been involved in kidnappings, armed robberies and killings, welcomed the official pardon and gave up their weapons at the event witnessed by members of the state Amnesty Committee in Isiokpo, the headquarters of Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. The weapons they surrendered reportedly included AK 47 rifles, G3, Dane guns, dynamite, NATO gun and detonators.

    The move to get the cultists to change their ways was initiated by Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration, following the effect of their destructive activities on the people living in the affected area. “We are all witnesses to what some misguided youths have done in Ikwerre LGA where people are predominantly farmers. Many could not farm because the militants are living in the forest where their farms are located,” chairman of the Amnesty Committee, Mr. Ken Chinda, was quoted as saying after receiving the surrendered weapons. He named two groups that were responsible for the disorder, Iceland and Debam, adding that laying down their arms was expected to usher in a period of peace.

    However, it is noteworthy that some cultists allegedly rejected the government’s peace moves, prompting Chinda to declare two cult leaders, Samuel Nkasiobi, aka ‘Italian’, and Okechukwu Amadi, aka ‘Gunboat’, as enemies of the state. Indeed, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Ikwerre LGA, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, reportedly announced that N10 million would be paid for information on the whereabouts of the uncooperative cult leaders.

    This means it may be premature to conclude that peace will return to the area based on the supposed cooperation of those that surrendered their weapons. Quite apart from the threat posed by the cultists who rejected amnesty, there is the possibility that those who accepted the deal and surrendered their weapons may not have done so honestly, meaning they could still have some hidden and undeclared weapons.

    While the government’s pardon might be built on sincerity of purpose, it is quite another thing for the pardoned to demonstrate good faith. It is positive that the government appreciates the possibility of reformation and rehabilitation, but these desirable improvements will not happen automatically. It will require mutual efforts to make the envisaged peace happen.

    The government’s plan and programme for the rehabilitation of the supposedly reformed cultists are still unclear. The next stage requires urgent clarification as well as urgent execution of intention. On the part of the pardoned cultists, there must be a sincere appreciation of the meaning of pardon for crimes committed as well as a solid sense of personal responsibility to ensure that their decriminalisation is not called into question by a watching public.

    It is worth mentioning that a similar development in Imo State in September reinforces the need for a holistic approach to a growing menace. A report said: “Over 1, 000 militants and agitators from oil-producing areas of Ohaji Egbema and Oguta local government areas of Imo State have laid down their arms following the state government’s decision to grant them amnesty.”

    Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha was said to have responded to increased restiveness in the two coastal oil-producing areas due to the activities of militants who had allegedly “joined their colleagues in other Niger Delta states to blow up oil installations and pipelines.” Also relevant to the matter in question is the presidential amnesty programme for Niger Delta ex-militants introduced by the Federal Government in 2009.

    Beyond what appears to be a ritual of amnesty, the situation calls for a reinforcement of security; but more importantly, it demands a decisive dismantling of the pillars that prop dangerous inequalities which inspire and encourage rebellion.

     

  • Man flees after allegedly killing brother in Lagos

    A man identified as Remi Adelaja has fled their Oshodi residence after he allegedly killed his elder brother, Mayowa Adelaja.

    The incident occurred at the wee hours of Sunday at 6, Adelaja Street, off Afariogun, Oshodi in Lagos.

    It was gathered that the tragedy forced other residents to flee the compound before the police got to the scene at about 2am.

    The Nation gathered that the brothers had a scuffle over torchlight, which resulted to a fight.

    According to a source, the deceased was looking for the torchlight and asked his younger brother but he claimed he knew nothing about it.

    “Their mother, Mrs. Adelaja is a bread seller. The suspect brought his five children to his father’s house after he lost his wife and since then, they have been staying together. Although, the deceased has been complaining about it.

    “But last night, the deceased was looking for torchlight and asked his younger brother who said he knew nothing about it. The issue later resulted to a quarrel because the two of them have been having problems.

    “The next thing they started fighting. The elder brother used iron rod to hit the younger one twice but the suspect ran inside, brought a knife and stabbed his older brother on the stomach.

    “That was how he fell down and died on the spot. Everyone ran only his mother was left. Then, Mayowa’s dogs surrounded him on the ground. The police came around 2am,” said the source.

  • Ritual Killings: Time to sweep out all hide-outs

    SIR: The persistence of cases of ritual murder, merchandising of human body parts increasing spate of armed burglary and robbery are troubling in a country with a still- functioning state apparatus. This situation is an affront to decent society and should be a cause for alarm for Nigerians and the federal government.

    The Nigeria Police, security and intelligence agencies, government’s town planning and development control departments, religious leaders, citizens, professionals involved in the building trade, other concerned Nigerians and  community leaders have their parts to play to bring these acts of savagery to an end in Nigeria without delay.

    With the ready accessibility of services such as Google Earth, every physical structure in Nigeria and anywhere in the world can be located, mapped and tracked. Drones are now quite cheap and can be mounted with security cameras for detailed scanning of difficult to reach places. A database of owners of all properties should be available to security agencies to aid crime-fighting and protection of citizens.  The Nigeria Police should find these tools handy in their effort to systematically sweep through every community in Nigeria for effective security surveillance and arrest of criminals who continue to give our country a bad image.

    President Buhari should as a matter of priority, give the marching order to the  Police and other agencies to jointly carry out exercises this year to rid Nigeria of this embarrassment and free citizens from fear as they pursue legitimate daily needs.  In addition, the long talked-about Community Policing Blueprint should be rolled out and implemented to fill the security gaps now evident in the country.

     

    • Oteniese Ozioga Amune (Oteniese), Igarra, Edo State.

  • Money ritual ordeal kills pupil

    A 16-year-old secondary school pupil, Raimi Fatai, has died in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, following a botched money ritual exercise.

    Fatai died two days after ingesting a liquid preparation administered on him by three of his colleagues involved in the ritual.

    The Nation gathered a second victim, on the verge of death, has been taken to a hospital for treatment.

    The victim and his classmates ventured into the ritual about two weeks ago with one of them who is said to be the son of a native doctor.

    The police from Adatan Division, Abeokuta, who got wind of the incident, arrested the three other pupils for questioning.

    Fatai’s body was taken to a morgue but later released to the family.

    An official of the school said a Parents-Teachers- Pupils meeting has been held.

    Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the command is investigating the incident.

  • Foluke Ogunleye: Ritual of stupidity in Yorubaland

    In Yorubaland, as in other parts of the country, stupidity has become a routine ritual, and we all partake of it gleefully, unconscionably, like accomplished zombies.

    Will it be different tonight, I wonder? The question gnaws at mind now as we arrive on the street.

    It is the cars that tell us we have reached the right address. Parked on the pavement on both sides of the narrow road, they sit huddled against one another like disordered tombstones, barely leaving room for other traffic.

    But I have anticipated this, that there will be some difficulty on arrival to find a place to park. The deceased that we have come to mourn was a sister to the current Special Adviser to the country’s President so it is logical to expect the crowd to be large.  This is why I brought a driver along to drop me.

    I get down now, and he drives on to find a parking space.

    It is one of these sultry evenings. More cars are arriving; there is a lot of hooting and hullabaloo; but everything is nevertheless in surprising order, no doubt because of the heavy presence of policemen, many of them bearing guns.

    Two of their lorries, flashing blue and amber lights, stand conspicuously to the right in a kind of barricade.

    I turn like others towards them, noticing that they have blocked the main entrance into the street. But they usher us on with unfamiliar courtesy through a side gate. I am impressed.

    However it is still a long walk to the venue.

    The street is in one of the city’s elite neighbourhoods. Most of the buildings are two-storey affairs, unpainted though, as if still unsure of their final look. As you walk past, they glare at you furtively behind their walls like suspicious sentries.

    Ii is the same street, I now recall, where the playwright, Zulu Sofola, lived years ago, until she and her husband, right in the prime of their lives, passed away one after the other rather dramatically, in a scenario reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

    There are more vehicles now, and more police personnel as I pass. But their forms are already receding into suggestive ghosts in the falling dusk.

    At the bottom, where the street turns sharply to the left, a lone singing voice suddenly wafts towards us over some microphone. And now I see them, at the far end of the close, the crowd I’ve come to join.

    Lit by a few bulbs hung on surrounding walls, some marquees become visible now at the far end, in front of which are rows upon rows of white plastic chairs on which the guests are seated.

    I select one of the empty ones at the back and fold myself into a quiet anonymity.

    I can make out the figures more clearly now from my seat.

    The man singing is the leader of the choir obviously. Behind him, shadowed under the marquees, are his choristers.

    Directly in front of them are the officiating priests, seated behind a covered table.

    Facing them, on the first row, and about thirty lines of seats away, are the immediate members of the family of the deceased. I am unable to distinguish them clearly from the back.

    Closer to me, I recognize here and there some familiar figures from the academic community in Ibadan and Ife. The skin of our foreign colleagues glows dimly in the half light.

    In a very short while the seats around me fill up with new arrivals.

    One of the priests has stood up to make an announcement. The service is yet to start, he says, because the copies of the official programme, which have been printed somewhere, have not arrived.

    The priest does not say where the printing has been done, but it is an easy guess, given the family’s present links with Abuja.

    Now I understand why the choir master is singing alone—he and the choir have been asked to improvise something while we wait.

    He is a good singer, with a rich, sonorous voice. And he evidently relishes it. With the microphone in his hand, his voice drowns out the others completely, to his evident delight. He is the self-adoring hero of the evening.

    The audience however is disappointed, one can see. They have come not just to listen, but also to perform and participate.

    Indeed the main reason they are here/—why the ‘Service of Songs’ has become a popular social event in Yorubaland—is precisely this fact that it has become a kind of soporific, communal rite.

    As the people sing together and sink deep in the swampy bog of their grief, something strange happens, something close to catharsis. They achieve an illusory state of bliss, and it shelters them for a while from their trembling fear of tomorrow.

    The Service of Songs has become popular precisely because of its capacity to induce amnesia and, even if briefly, provide relief. It is our opium against the anguish of Sudden and Violent Death, now in flagrant rampage in our land.

    (After the songs we sit and drink ‘tea’, a misnamed concoction of cocoa powder saturated with milk and sugar, which has become a favourite with mourners, and whose sweetness is also an emblem of our penchant for quick nostrums.)

    Hence the audience is not much impressed by the choir master’s virtuoso performance. It is robbing them of the chance to shed their desperation, and escape into oblivion.

    But finally, to everyone’s relief, the priests decide to start without the programmes.

    Everything proceeds smoothly now. The hymns are announced an sung; the prayers follow in appropriate sequence; the sermon is prompt.

    Nothing falls out of place; priests and audience are on the same familiar page. It is a ritual we perform every week.

    For, according to the Christian calendar that we have all accepted, funerals take place on Friday mornings; and are preceded on Thursday evenings by the Service of Songs.

    Everybody who is here now was probably there last week at another service; and will be there next week at a similar wake. That is why the ceremony has become mere routine; why all the songs and Bible quotations are already part of our memory, to be recited at the slightest prompting. We do it every week.

    The service comes now to the interval assigned for tributes to the deceased. Speaker after speaker remind us tearfully of her pleasant personality and of her precocious, glittering achievements. They speak of her soft but impressive presence, her gracefulness and her religious devotion, and of her cherubic face, a feature that seems common to her family. For many of us, Foluke’s loss is a deep, deep wound that nothing can heal.

    Then the priests proceed to the final prayers. Soon it will be time for tea.

  • A campus ritual for Ooni of Ife

    A campus ritual for Ooni of Ife

    It was all comedy last week when some students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State organised a parody of the Oro rite being held by Ife chiefs in preparation for the funeral of the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade. AFEEZ LASISI (300-Level Political Science) reports.

    A group of spiritualists carrying a sacrifice to the shrine to appease the deities. Leading the procession was the Oluawo (chief priest), who was clad in white cloths and a red blanket he fastened around his head. Behind him is an Ifa (divination) priest, who chanted dirges to which other initiates responded.

    Trailing them is an Oro (the spirit), who carried the object of sacrifice – a teddy bear. They all move in measured steps, hissing endlessly as the procession makes its way to the ‘shrine’.

    This was how students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State performed the ‘final rites’ for the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, who died on July 28 in London. The whole affair was a mimicry of the traditional rites that were simultaneously being performed by Ife chiefs on Wednesday, last week in preparation for the king’s burial.

    Since the Ooni’s death was announced, Ile-Ife, the ancient town which hosts the university – has been agog with traditional rituals. The palace declared a seven-day dawn-to-dusk curfew in the town for the final rite for the late monarch, during which Oro sacrifice was performed.

    To ensure compliance with the institution’s host community’s tradition, the OAU management released a memo, warning students to stay indoors for the period when the rite would be performed.

    On Wednesday, last week when the palace chiefs gathered to perform the Oro rite, some students also gathered themselves to organise a mockery of the ritual.

    Students residing in the hostels woke up to the shouts of “Oro! Oro!! Oro!!!”. It all started in a room in Awolowo Hall. Some students moved round the hostel to call their colleagues for a parody of the traditional formality.

    In their usual manner, the students’ version of the Oro rite turned out to be an Aro (a comic display), which dramatised the traditional funeral rite being held in honour of the late Ooni.

    Olufemi Akande, a non-teaching staff member, who witnessed the show, said he overheard some students shouting: “E je ki a lo gbe oro”(let us also perform oro rite).

    “They chanted this as they came out in their numbers. Before we know what was happening, oro emerged from nowhere and the students quickly gathered materials they considered needed to perform the comic display and set for the task,” Akande said.

    The oro rite started at 9 am at the Anglomoz Car Park with about 14 students. The crowd grew as the procession moved round the Halls of Residence. Staff and students watched in bewilderment as the procession passed by.

    Akande added: “The late Ooni could not have had a better funeral.”

    Traditionally, it is an abomination for women to watch oro, but this was not the case at the OAU. There was excitement in the female hostels as the procession stopped by. Many of the girls joined the procession.

    The chief priest said: “Eyin olosho ogba yi, e tewo gba ebo wa” (we beseech women of easy virtue on campus to accept our sacrifice).

    The student, who played oro, said at the entrance of female hostels: “If you are not a virgin, don’t look at me. It is dangerous for a girl who has been deflowered to look at me. Only a virgin is allowed.”

    As the oro was being taking into the female hostel, a male student, who played woli (prophet), prayed:

    “I decree that this campus be free of women of easy virtue, oppression, fee increment, unstable power supply…”

    Members of the procession replied with shouts of ase, Yoruba for “amen”.

    Asked why the oro performers did not talk to many people, one of them said oro does not talk until it is given a plate of Indomie and chicken.

    A curious female student asked why the prophet was part of the procession; the woli said the rite was in line with 21st century culture. The excited female students burst into laughter as they were being entertained by their male counterpart.

    As they made appeasement to the gods, the ‘chief priest’ said: “The spirit needs to take bread and you girls must find the bread to make appeasement for the gods.”

    The statement elicited responses from the female students, who asked the ‘chief priest’ whether the spirits do eat. Some of the girls said: “Do spirits speak English in the land of the dead? Prove to us that you are from the land of the dead.”

    When nobody offered them food, the babaalawos returned to their hostels. The performance excited students, who described it as the most hilarious show of the session.

    A student, who identified himself as John, said: “I am not surprised at the comical display of the Awolowo Hall residents. Their version of Oro amuses and it confirms that Awolowo Hall residents are brilliant when it comes to performing something hilarious.”

    Another student, who gave her name as Folashade Adeoti, said the Oro display made the campus lively after lectures were suspended because of the Ooni’s burial.

    She said: “When I woke up this morning, everywhere looked dull because there was no lecture. I felt relaxed when I observed the Oro performance by Awolowo Hall boys.”

    A student, Shayo, who played the Ifa priest, said: “We did not want the campus to be in boredom; that was why we gathered ourselves to organise a parody of the Oro ritual.”

     

     

  • Ritual killers on the prowl

    Ritual killers on the prowl

    Ritual killers have lately laid siege to some communities in Ogun State, leaving the residents to live in pains and perpetual fear, KUNLE AKINRINADE reports.

    • Outrage in Ogun communities as ritual murderers go on the rampage

    When he set out for business on June 10, 2014, the only thing on the mind of a belt hawker in Itele area of Ota, Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area, Ogun State, was how he could make a huge sale. He had no inkling of the danger that lurked around when some men in front of an uncompleted building on Alhaji Jamiu Sulaimon Street, beckoned to him.

    He cheerfully responded to their call, thinking that he was about to make some sales. Unknown to him, the supposed customers were ritual killers. They seized him as soon he arrived. His friend, who was also a hawker, had to raise the alarm after waiting for about 30 minutes without a sight of him.

    By the time policemen from Itele Police Division stormed the building, the hapless hawker was found wriggling in pains. A big gash was found on his neck and blood was gushing out of his battered eyes as the fleeing ritual killers had tried to slaughter him and pluck out one of his eyes.

    The poor boy, however, survived the unfortunate incident after he was taken to a hospital for treatment, while a few arrests were made by the police.

    But since the incident, killing of innocent people for ritual purposes has not ceased in the rustic community. On May 5, 2015, men of the Itele Police Division rescued an unidentified 28-year-old lady from an uncompleted building in the Unity and Peace Estate along Lafenwa-Itele Road, after she was lured there by some persons suspected to be ritual kidnappers.

    While she was kept in the building, her face was covered with a cloth and her mouth was gagged. Her hands and feet were also bound to prevent her escape. During the rescue operation, the decomposing body of a missing job seeker, Miss Precious Kessington Omorodion, was also discovered in the building.

    Our correspondent learnt that some of her belongings, including phones, bags and other women accessories, were found at the scene.

    The Nation had published the strange disappearance of Precious while returning from a visit to one of her cousins in the Ilishan-Remo area of the state on April 19, 2015. She was allegedly abducted by one Mayowa, who had promised to get her a job.

    Our correspondent learnt that Mayowa had met Precious in Meiran area of Alagbado, Lagos and asked her out but Precious turned down his request for a relationship, saying that her priority was not dating but securing employment.

    Horror scenes

    Similar scenarios have since played out in other parts of Ogun State. Among them was the horrific sight at Eposo village in Isara, Remo North Local Government Area, Ogun State on Tuesday June 16, 2015, where policemen discovered the decomposing body of a Science Laboratory Technology student of Gateway Polytechnic, Sapaade, Miss Morenikeji Owolabi.

    The mutilated body of the 21-year-old student was allegedly found in a shrine owned by a suspected ritualist, Femi Awise, who is now on the run.

    The late student was said to have visited Awise’s shrine for undisclosed reasons but did not return home, fuelling suspicion that she might have been kidnapped.

    Those who saw her while she was being ferried to the place were said to have instigated the arrest of the commercial motorcycle operator who conveyed her to the shrine, leading to the discovery of her dismembered body.

    Men of the Ogun State Police Command however succeeded in apprehending three suspects who allegedly connived with Awise to perpetrate the crime.

    Another sad episode occurred on Friday June 19, 2015, in Oju Ore area of Ota, Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area, where an eight-year-old pupil of a private school on Funmi Ayopo Street, Master Olamilekan Olajide, was allegedly killed by one of his teachers for ritual purposes.

    It was gathered that Olamilekan’s teacher, one Sunday Anaeto, allegedly connived with two others, Uche Isaac and Opeyemi Shodeinde, to carry out the dastardly act. It was alleged that the suspects lured the pupil into a corner of a classroom and killed him for rituals.

    Our correspondent learnt that the suspects threw the mutilated body of the boy into an uncompleted building behind the school. Anaeto and his accomplices were however caught by vigilant residents and promptly handed over to policemen at the Obasanjo Farm Police Station, Ota.

    The school building has since been destroyed by an angry mob while the suspects are being being tried at an Ota Magistrate’s Court.

    It was however a narrow escape for 97-year-old grandfather, Pa Iposiola Samaiye, on June 16, 2015, when he was rescued by policemen from Aye Forest in Isire village, along Ijebu Ode/Benin Expressway, after spending one week in the kidnappers ‘den. Pa Samaiye was taken to a hospital for treatment while the mastermind of his abduction, Emeka Obi, 40, was apprehended by men of the Ogun State Police Command.

    The baits

    In the case of the unidentified 28-year-old lady rescued in Itele, she was allegedly lured into captivity after some men had promised to secure her a lucrative contract. She reportedly told journalists: “I met one of the ritual killers two weeks ago and the relationship became deeper after the guy introduced himself as a contractor and promised to secure me juicy contracts.

    “The man called me two days ago and told me about a contract worth about N1.5m, but I could not go and meet him because I was sick. The man later came to my residence in Lagos and persuaded me to come for the contract deal.

    “But on getting to Unity and Peace Estate, we headed for an uncompleted building. One other person joined us. But when we got to the building, I smelt a rat. The building was already plastered and the floor had been cemented too.

    “But before I knew what had hit me, both of them had pounced on me. They beat me up and tried to rape me only to find that I was observing my period. They then tied my two hands and legs and covered my face and mouth with a cloth. They agreed to come back at night to complete the assignment. It was a miracle that passers-by rescued me.”

    In her comment shortly after the strange disappearance of Precious, her twin sister, Constance, said she feared her sister might have fallen victim to Mayowa because of her desperation to secure employment.

    She said: “She travelled to Ilishan-Remo to see one of our cousins on Easter Sunday, from where she told me on the phone that Mayowa had asked her to attend an employment interview with an Apapa-based manufacturing outfit where he works. Three days later, she informed me that she would be returning home on Thursday April 9, 2015.

    “On the day she promised to return, she told me that she had reached Berger Bus Stop on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. A few minutes later, she sent me a message on Whatsapp that she was at Lafenwa area of Ota, Ogun State.

    “She later sent me another text message saying that she was on her way to Spain. From then, she was no longer reachable as her three phone numbers were switched off. I feared she might have been kidnapped by Mayowa because our cousin, who she visited at Ilishan-Remo, said she overheard my sister asking the said Mayowa on the phone to pick her up at Berger Bus Stop.”

    Outrage

    Speaking with our correspondent in different interviews, outraged residents of Itele community have urged law enforcement agents to step up vigilance in order to stop the heinous killing of people in the town for ritual purposes.

    A community leader, Elder Wole Sowole, observed that the community had been under siege from ritual kidnappers lately because of security laxity.

    His words: “We were indeed more than shocked to discover another ritual kidnappers’ den in this town. We had thought that such occurrence would never be seen again after a male belt seller was rescued from an uncompleted building used by ritual killers last year.

    “It is sad that our community has been turned into a den of ritualists because there is no adequate security. The law enforcement agencies relaxed their vigilance after a belt seller was rescued last year. Such cases may not abate if adequate security measures are not put in place to stop or fish out wicked people from turning this community into their devilish den.”

    A resident of Funmi Ayopo Street, Mrs Sarah Edunjobi, said: “We are currently living in fear since a school was discovered to be the den of ritual kidnappers. Only God knows how many innocent people would have been killed in this gruesome manner. We are calling on security agencies to help us rid this community of evil men who have started preying on innocent people.”

    Condemning the killing of Miss Owolabi for ritual purpose, a community leader in Eposo, who asked not to be named, said: “We do not want a repeat of this dastardly act in our community, hence we are calling on the state government to save us from the grip of kidnappers who are prowling our community unchallenged. We have destroyed the shrine where the evil was perpetrated but we are hoping that police will come to our help so as to secure our community from these marauders.”

    When contacted on his mobile phone for comment, the spokesman of Ogun State Police Command, Mr Muyiwa Adejobi, did not pick his call while a text message forwarded to his phone was not replied at press time.

  • BLACK MAGIC RITUAL: Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan denies killing rapper Castro

    BLACK MAGIC RITUAL: Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan denies killing rapper Castro

    According to the Metro, Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan has denied playing any part in the killing of rapper Castro, who is presumed dead after a jet-ski accident gone wrong in southern Ghana.

    The accident occurred back on July 6 in the town of Ada where Gyan had flipped the bill for a vacation for 16 of his friends. The details are minimal but in short, Castro and his girlfriend Janet Bandu went off on a jet ski ride and failed to return. The group thereafter carried out a search for the couple when they spotted an unmanned jet ski and informed the police.

    With authorities in Ghana still unable to locate the bodies more than two months later, rumors have now emerged that Castro’s corpse was used for a black magic ritual for financial gain or, as Gyan’s lawyer Kissi Agyabeng explains, a sacrifice to spiritually enhance his career.

    A statement released by Agyabeng reads: “When it became apparent that Castro and Janet had disappeared, an article appeared online which appeared to commiserate with Asamoah Gyan citing the recent loss of his mother and now the loss of his best friend.

    “One would have thought that this would have been a point of reference to console the Gyans – and indeed, a good number of well-meaning persons expressed this sentiment and sought to encourage us to stand firm.

    “To the thousands of individuals and institutions that came to our aid and to offer support, we express our gratitude.

    “Sadly, the expression of empathy during a person’s moment of grief and utter dismay does not sell in the media.

    “What sells in the media, and what indeed sold and is still selling in the media in Ghana are wild allegations and rumours directed especially at Asamoah Gyan – ranging from the absurd – of the imputation of criminality to him in the sense that he either murdered Castro or had him kidnapped – and ending with the ludicrous – that he sacrificed him spiritually to enhance his career.

    “We had no hand in that occurrence. We have no moral or legal culpability whatsoever.

    “None of us rode out into the open estuary with Castro and Janet Bandu.

    “Castro rode out there on his own volition and none of us have the slightest idea as to what happened to them.

    “We have only been guess working and conjecturing and making what appears to us to be intelligent deductions – in light of the facts available to us, especially the fact that when they rode out on the jet ski Janet Bandu was not wearing a life jacket.

    “We know Castro all too well. He was our brother. We loved him as one of our own. We did everything together with him.

    “You are all witnesses to the hit songs Castro has been featuring Asamoah Gyan on and the added popularity that gave him.

    “Indeed, the duo was just about to release another song. We will never do anything to harm him.

    “We are in unimaginable pain and shock and we will give anything to Castro and Janet back.”

  • Mob vandalise police officer’s mansion over alleged ritual cell

    Mob vandalise police officer’s mansion over alleged ritual cell

    A mob stormed a three storey building in Abeokuta the Ogun State capital on Monday and  vandalised the glass window panes as they pelted it with stone, steel and other objects following allegation of the existence of an underground cell  for ritual in the house.

    They were on the verge of battering the high perimeter wall surrounding the building to gain entry and apparently to torch it but for the quick arrival of a security personnel from the State Security Service(SSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC), Special Anti – Robbery Squad(SARS) and Policemen from Eleweran who fought off the mob and saved the building from being set ablaze.

    Two lady – tenants who were the only found inside the house  on Agogo – Ogun compound, Ijaiye area panicked and scampered to safety on sighting the surging youths that besieged the compound.

    They mob were acting on the allegation that the house, believed to be owned by a retired senior police officer, harbor an  underground cell where ritual syndicates go for supply of flesh blood and human parts.

    Not even the sporadic firing of gunshot into the air by the police could make the resolute mob in their hundreds beat a retreat as they said they would not leave the compound until every part of is searched.

    When the tension heightened by noon, the Balogun of Ijaiye and Aare of Egbaland, Alh. Ganiyu Babayedun Alimo, was called in to douse the tension and upon his arrival to the scene, he was said to have instructed that the gate be broken so that a search could be conducted on the building.

    For almost an hour, a search team comprising the Balogun Ijaiye, youth leader, selected natives, SSS, SARS, NSCDC, Police, operative of the Vigilante Service of Ogun State(VSO) combed every room, toilet and enclosure within the expanse house that looked odd in a depressed, dingy and seedy Ijaiye compound and found no underground cell.

    The Balogun appealed to the curious crowd and irate youth – mob who had been spoiling to bring the building down if their suspicion was confirmed, to disperse while the police also fired into the air several times to scare people away.

  • Man allegedly kills lover for ritual in Oyo

    Police in Ojongbodu division in the Oyo-West Local Government Area of Oyo State is investigating circumstances surrounding mysterious death of a woman at a guest house in Oyo town.

    The deceased was said to have been invited by her man friend to a popular guest house around seven oclock in the evening where both of them booked for a room where they lodged in.

    But to the surprise of guest house workers located at Jaremily area along Ilora road, neither the man nor his woman friend could be found inside their room.

    After a search, the lifeless body of the woman was said to have been found inside the bathroom while water was showering on her head.

    The matter was immediately reported to the police who arrested the owner of the guest house while investigation lasted.

    During investigation, residence of the deceased man friend,  who was said to be at large when the incident happened was contacted at  Winners area where the matrimonial wife was said to have told the police detectives that her  husband travelled  out of the town and would spend few days before returning.

    Suspicious of the statement, the police were said to have arrested both the wife and children and taken them to their station pending the appearance of the husband.

    The accused whose name could not be ascertained as at press time had surrendered self to the police.

    It was alleged that he ran away to one of his relations, a military personnel in Ibadan, who advised him to go  back home and report  himself to the police.

    THE NATION further gathered that examination conducted on the corpse showed that hair in the deceased’s  armpit and vagina  had been removed.

    Though the Divisional Police Officer was not available for comment, but a reliable police officer  hinted that the matter will soon be referred to Homicide section at Iyaganku in Ibadan, the state capital.