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By Akeem Atoyebi
The Ogun State Police Command has taken into custody a 29-year-old Ogunnaike Philip, on allegations of killing at least three young girls, including an 18-year-old, in separate incidents across the state.
According to the command, the suspect’s tactics was to lure his victims into the forest, where he would have them tied up, strangle them, and then abandon their bodies after stealing their phones.
According to the command, findings revealed that the suspect is a suspected serial killer who escaped from the Ibara Correctional Centre about two years ago while being taken to the Magistrate Court in Isabo for an ongoing armed robbery case.
While announcing the arrest on Friday, the command revealed that the victims of Philip’s crimes included 18-year-old Akinsanya Habibat, 22-year-old Abigail Dina, and 23-year-old Mary Ogunyemi.
In a statement released on Friday by the command’s spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, it was revealed that Ogunnaike had confessed to killing the three victims and leaving their bodies in the forest.
Following his confession, the suspect led the police’s anti-kidnapping team to multiple locations where the three victims were murdered.
According to the police, 22-year-old nurse Dina left her home at 8:10 am on May 6, 2024, in Iyana Egbado, Ewekoro Local Government, to head to her workplace at Sodipo Medical Centre in Itori, when she was abducted by the suspect and taken to an unknown forest in Itori.
The statement read, “The kidnapper stole an iPhone XR from the victim and then strangled her to death. Subsequently, he contacted her family by phone and demanded a ransom of N50,000.
“Afterward, the suspect abandoned her body in the forest. Ogunnaike Philip, a male suspect, was arrested in connection with the case and confessed to committing the crime.
“The suspect confessed that he fled to Saki town in Oyo State, where he exchanged the stolen iPhone XR for an Infinix Hot 10 and received a cash sum of N65,000.”
Ogunnaike along with an accomplice who is currently at large, was accused of luring his neighbour’s 23-year-old daughter, Ogunyemi, to a forest. They allegedly tied her up, strangled her, and abandoned her body after stealing her phone.
The statement added, “On July 3, 2024, at approximately 10 a.m., the late Mary Ogunyemi, a 23-year-old lady, was sent by her mother, Mrs. Ogunyemi Esther, to buy fruits at Adatan from Asero Estate. She was accompanied by the suspect, Ogunnaike
Ogunnaike, a male suspect, was staying with someone in the same compound as the victim. He lured her to a nearby bush in Asero Estate and called in another accomplice to assist him in the kidnapping.
“The victim was bound with rope and robbed of an iPhone S. Ogunnaike Philip and his accomplice jointly strangled her to death. The two criminals later contacted the victim’s mother by phone and demanded a ransom of seventeen thousand naira.
“The duo abandoned the corpse of the victim inside the bush and fled to Badagry, Lagos State, to sell off the stolen iPhone S at the rate of N8,000.”
