Court remands 3 alleged cultists docked for culpable homicide

AN Ilorin Senior Magistrates’ Court on Thursday ordered the remand of three persons docked for alleged culpable homicide and criminal conspiracy.

The accused persons: Taiwo Osein, 25, Toba Oyedepo, 36, and Abubakar Muhammed, 40, are facing charges bordering on criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, being members of the secret cult and unlawful possession of firearms.

The Senior Magistrate, Mr A.M. Ibrahim, ordered the remand of the accused persons at Federal Prisons, IIorin, following the submission of the prosecution that the accused persons had been on the police wanted list for several alleged criminal offences.

Ibrahim adjourned the case until March 26, for the mention.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Insp. Nasir Yusuf told the court that the accused persons with others still at large, sometime in July 2017, beside Honeymoon Hotel, Ilorin, allegedly killed one Omo Alhaja, a member of the rival cult group.

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He alleged that police investigation revealed that the three accused persons and others now at large, were members of the notorious and dreaded Aiye secret cult.

The prosecutor told the court that the accused persons after their dastardly act severed the right wrist of their victim (Omo Alhaja) for rituals.

Yusuf alleged that police operative recovered from Olaitan Oganja, a member of the gang, now on remand, an American automatic pistol, eight live cartridges and a black axe.

He told the court that the accused and their gang members used the recovered dangerous weapons to terrorise members of rival cult groups and innocent members of the public.

The prosecutor said that the offences contravened Sections 97 and 221 of the Penal Code, Sections 2 and 14 of Secret Cult and Secret Societies (Prohibition) Law 2016, and Section 28 (i) of Firearms Act.