by S’ola Filani

A muslim cleric, identified as Alfa Gani, has been arrested after a baby’s placenta was found in his residence in the Laduba community, Ogidi area of Ilorin, Kwara State, on Thursday.

According to reports, the discovery was made when some volunteers went round the Laduba community to appeal for financial contributions from residents for the repair of a faulty transformer in the area.

On arriving at Gani’s residence however,  the  volunteers perceived an offensive odour.

Worried by the offensive odour, the source said the volunteers alerted other members of the community about it, while some concerned persons took the courage to inquire what was going on in the house.

“On getting to the suspect’s house, the people confronted the suspect, asking him to explain the kind of odour coming from his house. But the inquisition infuriated Alfa Gani, who felt embarrassed, accusing the concerned community members of trying to intrude into his privacy.

“The situation further led to an altercation between him and the inquisitive members of the community, who insisted they must get to the root of the matter.

“The Alfa then went out in annoyance to lodge a complaint at Oloje police station, apparently to cover his track. But before he could return from the station, the inquisitive members of the community have forced themselves into the house, where they met a boy preparing some charms with a baby’s placenta.

“The people descended on him, and the boy confessed that Alfa Gani asked him to exhume the placenta to prepare the charms,” a police source told journalists.

In the middle of the confusion, the mother of the baby was said to have rushed to where the baby’s placenta had been buried, only to discover that it was no longer there.

Meanwhile, it was further gathered that Alfa Gani arrived the scene with some policemen with the intention to arrest those trying to “intrude into his privacy,” but the community rose against them and presented another version of the story to the police.

“It was at that point that the police decided to search the entire house, following which they allegedly discovered more human parts,”the source said.

Speaking on the development, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident, saying that the suspect was caught with baby placenta and the community descended on him.

Okasanmi also said that the suspected man had just been released from prison on same charge.