Temidire 4, a quiet rural community in Egbejila, Ilorin, was thrown into chaos on Thursday morning following the shocking discovery of what appears to be a ritual killing.
The victim, a pregnant woman, was found gruesomely murdered and dismembered in a manner that has sent shivers through the area, reports Saturday Independent.
The unsettling incident, according to eyewitness accounts, bears chilling similarities to a recent ritual case in Ilorin involving a self-styled cleric, Abdulrahaman Bello, who murdered Hafsur Lawal, a college student, for body parts.
Residents say the victim, whose husband is a trader in agricultural chemicals and equipment in a border town in Kwara North, had been alone at home on Wednesday night.
Eyewitnesses alleged that she was expecting a visitor that evening and was seen purchasing bottles of beer and plates of pepper soup before retreating indoors.
By dawn, suspicion arose when a neighbour reportedly confronted a man, believed to be her husband’s younger brother, leaving the house with a dripping black nylon bag.
The liquid trail, on closer inspection, turned out to be blood. Alarm was raised immediately, drawing other members of the community.
Horrifically, body parts suspected to belong to the victim — including an arm, a leg, and entrails — were later discovered in nearby bushes.
The head was nowhere to be found.
Panic spread quickly through the community as whispers of ritual motives gained ground, inflaming long-standing ethnic suspicions and stereotypes among residents.
The discovery has already deepened mistrust within the multi-tribal settlement, with accusations and counter-accusations tearing at fragile relations.
Police sources confirmed to this reporter that the case has been transferred from the Budo Nuhu Divisional Headquarters along Airport Road to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Ilorin for further probe.
However, official response has not been forthcoming.
Repeated enquiries directed to the Kwara State Police Command’s spokesperson, Ejire Toun, were yet to be answered as at the time of filing this report.
For now, the mystery surrounding the killing remains unresolved, but the community of Temidire 4 is on edge, fearing that the specter of ritual murders haunting Kwara State has returned.
