From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo
Fear and disbelief have gripped residents of Oyo town, Oyo State following the discovery of a storey building suspected to serve as den for ritual killers and their gory activities.
The building, located at Owode, the central business district of the ancient town, was occupied by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and later vacated the place barely a year ago, after acquiring another building
a few kilometres away.
The long building is said to have contained about 15 rooms.
When the building was vacated by the PHCN, it was said to be properly under lock and key.
But some of the residents, including commercial motorcyclists who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that in the last few weeks, strange movement of persons at night were being noticed within the vicinity.
“Recently, a young man was seen in the day light jumping fence of the suspected building from inside outside. When we called him, he appeared in tattered clothes with blood stained on it in the presence of a policeman. We demanded to know his mission and how come the blood stained on his cloth, but he pretended to be a lunatic.
“To everyone’s surprise, the policeman neither arrested the young man nor entered the building to ascertain what was happening inside. The situation is making everyone to be apprehensive, as cases of ritual killings seem to be on the increase. We are deeply worried and wanted to know why it has taken the landlord so long a time to accommodate
another tenant into the building,” said a source.
When our correspondent visited entrance of the building, it is found to be vulnerable to undesirable and anti-social activities, as all the doors were opened.
Meanwhile, there had been unconfirmed reports of rich men who now invade the ancient town in search of virgins for their ritualistic purposes.
They were said to be employing the services of other young ladies, who help them source for virgins. In the process, the innocent virgins are lured with money and expensive gifts.
Once these wealthy individuals have sex with the virgins, the blood and other accompanying fluids are allegedly collected and used for rituals to elongate their lifespan.
Students of the two federal and state tertiary institutions were said to be the major victims.
Commenting, an Oyo-based legal practitioner, Wale Adeoye, said it is unfortunate that most perpetrators of the dastardly act are rarely punished by the law due to the rigorous process required to prove such cases beyond reasonable doubt.
More so, Adeoye stated that “the court of law does not recognise the existence of charms as it is alien to the English from who Nigerians borrowed this judicial system”.
