Suspected ritualists murder 41-year-old farmer in Ogun

A 41-year-old farmer of Benue origin, Fidelis Ikpechi, has been murdered by suspected ritualists on his farm, at Ogere -Remo area of Ogun State, last Thursday.

TribuneOnline learnt that the late Ikpechi was beheaded, with some of his body parts taken away.

It was gathered that the father of three whose family are still in Benue on New Year holiday, had gone to his cassava farm, which was about 20 minutes away from his house, on the fateful day and never returned home.

His dismembered body was found inside a sack, on Friday morning, around Ositelu street, in Ogere-Remo.

According to the Secretary of Igede community, Ogere Remo, Mr Michael Ekirigwe, the search for the deceased began on Thursday evening when his neighbours noticed his sudden disappearance and calls put through to his mobile line were not picked.

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Ekirigwe said it was shocking to have found the remains of their kinsmen inside a sack, some metres away from his farm.

“We are very sad and disillusioned with the dastard killing of one of us, in fact we are very pained that a man quietly working in his farm not too far away from his house could be brutally killed like animals, what then is the fate of those whose farms are very far to the town?” Ekirigwe queried.

The elder brother of the deceased, Mr Adikpe Sunday, said he wondered why anyone could have been so wicked to murder his brother.

“I brought him to Ogere from Abeokuta side about seven years ago. I felt the farming work he was doing there was too stressful and that when he comes around I would help him get a job. When he got to Ogere, he worked for like two years with Animal Care company but later went back to farming, maybe he felt the money was not enough,” he said.