by Akintomiwa Agbaje

Two youths, 23-year-old Onyebuchi Igwe, and the other simply identified as Debo were beheaded by suspected cultists, on Sunday in Odogunyan at the outskirts of Ikorodu, Lagos State.

According to sources, the bodies of the victims were found in the bush by policemen of the Shagamu Division with the head and hands of  Igwe severed while the other, Debo, had his head removed with other body parts still intact.

The killing of the young men was reportedly a revenge for the murder of one of the members, 22-year-old, Michael Agbo, who was killed in place of his brother, Emmanuel, with their mother beaten and house vandalized on August 6, by a rival cult group which the victims were said to belong.

Reports say:

A brother to one of the deceased persons, Ibe Igwe, said he was devastated by Onyebuchi’s death. He said he (Onyebuchi) lived at Sango, Ogun State, and decided to spend the weekend with him (Ibe) in Ikorodu.

He said, “Onyebuchi was my younger brother and he lived at Sango. We had not seen in a while and he decided to spend the weekend with me in Ikorodu.

“On that Sunday morning, he said he was going to have his hair cut at a nearby barber’s shop, but around 12pm I received a call from my brother’s phone but it was not his voice.

“The person said my brother was dead and he described the place where I was to recover the corpse.

“On getting there, I saw my brother lying on the ground naked without his head and both hands. There was another corpse there (Debo).”

Our correspondent, who visited the Shagamu Road Police Division, did not meet the Divisional Police Officer or the Divisional Crime Officer on seat.

However, a police source said policemen attached to the division went to recover the corpses from the bush.

He said 10 suspects had been arrested, while the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba.

He said, “The Police recovered the corpses from the bush when the report got to us. There are at the General Hospital Mortuary, Ikorodu.

“In respect to the case, 10 suspects have been arrested and the case is now at the SCID for further investigations.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said investigations were ongoing.

She said, “Police are working hard to ensure that gang-related violence is curbed in Ikorodu.”