Residents of Ijaiye, Ahmadiyya and Abule-Egba areas of Lagos State are yet to overcome the shock of the ritualists’ den, discovered right under their noses, in the early hours of yesterday.
The den, located beside the main road at the popular Obadeyi bus-stop, Ijaiye, was exposed by a female sweeper who heard the horrific cry of a victim screaming for help. The cry for help came from an underground tunnel, which linked to a canal at Obadeyi street.
Unfortunately, before passersby entered the canal, the woman who cried for help had been killed, but her little baby was found.
Under the tunnel, soldiers were said to have found different body parts and many routes linking to the canal.
In the course of their hunt, a man belonging to the group was also arrested who later confessed to being part of a 28-member group operating under the canal.
Items recovered from the shrine included charms, carvings, white clothes stained with blood as well as native soap.
According to an eyewitness account, the suspected ritual killers allegedly target pedestrians crossing or plying the road early in the morning and late at night, as the den is just about 50 metres away from the pedestrian bridge.
They then drag their victims into the manhole, which stretches along the expressway, where they are eventually killed.
The discovery led to pandemonium yesterday, as irate residents stormed the scene to rescue the victims and apprehend the ritualists.
Angered by the move, two more suspects were brought out but the mob overpowered the police and burnt them alive.
According to a source, the crowd allegedly set ablaze one of the suspects but surprisingly to them, fire was burning all over his clothes but he appeared unhurt.
The source said: “The ritualist said that no one can do him any harm. Even some people tried cutting him with machetes and all sorts of weapons but he still wasn’t hurt.”
Meanwhile, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni, told newsmen at the scene yesterday that the dungeon was discovered by joint efforts of security agents and members of the public.
According to Owoseni, the place was discovered after a highway sweeper with the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) raised an alarm when she heard the voice of a woman calling for help from the canal. He said that two of those caught were set ablaze by the mob before the arrival of the police at the scene.
Owoseni said that detectives would be on ground on Wednesday with more sniffer dogs and other security gadgets to ascertain more facts concerning the incident.
“In the process, people moved in there to help and also noticed that some persons who had some charms like gourd in their mouths tried to escape and that made the crowd to suspect something unusual.
“For now about seven persons, who are suspected to be using those buildings as base for rituals, have been arrested.
“We will continue to give it a touch of professionalism and scientific approach by deploying sniffer dogs that can also penetrate into the canal to see whether we can get materials to be of evidential value,” Owoseni said.