Suspected ritualist murders 73-year-old pensioner in Ekiti

A seventy-three-year-old pensioner, Mrs. Adetutu Ajayi, has been gruesomely murdered in Ado Ekiti by a suspected ritualist, who some residents alleged to be ‘Yahoo boys’.

Ajayi, the daughter of the former Accountant General of the Old Western Region, Mr. Samuel Sotoowa, was murdered at her residence on No. 10, Moferere, Ajilosun area of Ado Ekiti.

The deceased lifeless body was found in a pool of her blood in her three-bedroom bungalow by some church members around 11a.m. when they came to visit her. Eyewitness account said her fingers were cut off and body, including head, macheted beyond recognition.

The mother of five, who was said to be living alone in the flat with a tenant occupying the ‘boys quarters’ at the back of her house, was a retiree of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

Reacting to the dastardly act, the deceased’s daughter, Mrs. Titilayo Ajayi, said she was called from Akure, capital of Ondo State around the time of the discovery by church members that her mother has sustained injuries at home, which made her to rush down to assess the situation.

“When I got here, I saw my mother in a pool of blood. Her blood had been drained and taken away because a bucket Mama left in the store was taken away, which we believed was used to drain her blood. Her fingers were cut off, which made us to suspect that it was done by ritualists.

“She ought to attend the cross-over vigil at CAC, Voice of God on Monday night within this street but when the pastor did not see her, he was worried and sent a delegation to check on her and when they got here on Tuesday morning, they saw her lifeless body and immediately raised the alarm.

“We saw the record Mama left on calendar because anytime she wakes up around 5a.m. she would take her bath and marked the calendar and we saw the calendar marked on that day, which suggested that she was killed after 5a.m.”

She said her body had been deposited at the morgue of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti. She begged the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the crime and bring the perpetrators to book while also pleading for the cops to fast-track the investigation so that her mother can be buried in due course.

The 82-year-old husband of the deceased, Mr. Clement Ajayi, who lived at Irun Ekiti, described the incident as “sad, pathetic and surprising”, saying it confirmed that the lives of Nigerians were no longer safe.

“I cannot imagine myself seeing my wife being massacred like that, over what. In fact, her head, eyes, hands, laps and neck were butchered, you could hardly identify her. It was a gruesome murder and justice must be done in this matter”, he said.

When called to confirm the story, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti Command, Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, said the woman has been taken to the morgue.

“Yes, we are aware. We got the information and our men are working round the clock to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book”, he said.