The prime suspect in the killing of Damilola Olowoyo, a 19-year-old 100 level student at the Federal University Lokoja, Kogi State, Jeremiah Paul, has confessed that he lured the deceased to the bush and killed her for money ritual.
Aged 20, Jeremiah hails from Chikun Local Government of Kaduna State.
In his confessional statement, Jeremiah, who was paraded along with three other suspects, said “I came to Kogi State to hustle. I met Damilola last week Sunday and approached her in which she accepted. We started chatting. I already had it in mind that I want to use Damilola for ritual. I bought codeine and sprite and missed it up and gave it to her.
“I first drank it so that she won’t suspect it. When She drank it, I told her let us go to my house and she agreed. When she felt weak, I took her to an uncompleted building close to my place and strangled her to death. The cloth she was wearing, I used it to tie her leg, and neck. I later dragged her to a nearby bush and removed what the native doctor told me to remove.
“The native doctor who resides in Ibadan sent a driver and brought calabash and a knife. In the calabash, he used a black and white cotton to wrap the calabash and a red cloth to wrap the knife. It is the knife I used to remove part of her body, which is is the eyes, tongue, lungs, intestine and some part of her buttocks.
“I put it inside the calabash and wrapped it. I now gave it to the driver who he sent from Ibadan to Lokoja. So, the driver way bill it back to Ibadan. After that, he now way bill my soap back to LoKoja. I met the native doctor on tiktok and I copied his number and later message him on Whatsapp. I went with my friend to Ibadan to see the native doctor”.
The four suspects paraded are Jeremiah Paul, Emmanuel Otitoju, Barnabas Olugbenga and Ajayi Basit Ayomide.
Jeremiah’s alleged accomplice, Barnabas Olugbenga, who was also paraded by the Kogi State Police command narrated his own side of the story.
“We were in Kaduna and we saw one Ifa on tiktok then we took his number and chatted him up so that he can do soap for us. When my friend gathered the money, we don’t have money to lodge when we came to Lokoja. So, we decided to stay with a friend before we travel to Ibadan.
“When we traveled to Ibadan, we went and collect soap. My own soap is called soap for cleansing. Whenever I bath with my soap, am not allowed to come outside in the night, so that I won’t see any Woman or smoke. When I bath with the soap, I am hoping that I will get money within one week. I was not aware that Paul wanted killed Damilola”.
On his part, Emmanuel Otitoju, aged 24, who is a 100 level student in the department of sociology, Federal University Lokoja, denied his involvement in the crime.
According to him “When I met the deceased (Damilola), she told me that she had misunderstanding with her Boy friend which I told her to settle with him. The deceased told me she was 16 years and I responded that I can’t date her because of her age.
“I used to do hand work and am not a yahoo boy. Me and Jeremiah stays in the same compound and we are neighbors. I was not aware that he was planning to kill Damilola”.
Also speaking, another suspect, Ajayi Basit Ayomide aged 19 who is a 300 level student in the department of micro biology from the Federal University Lokoja narrated how he met the other suspects.
“I was in a game shop when Banabas called me that he is in Lokoja right now and is planning to travel to Ibadan. He told me that he will stay in my place for a while before he continues his journey. He brought his friend called Jeremiah that they are both traveling to Ibadan. They both stayed at my place for a while and they later travelled to Ibadan.
“They came back together and told me of their plans to travel to Kaduna but they don’t have money. They begged me to stay in my place for sometime pending when they have money to travel. Since then, I was the one feeding them. I have no knowledge in the kidnap or killing of Damilola. Before we were arrested, Jeremiah and his friend told me that they cash out N400,000. They used the money to buy phones and food,” he stated.
Narrating how the suspects were arrested, Police Public Relations Officer, SP William Ovye Aya said there was a complain to the Commissioner of Police about the disappearance of Damilola Orowoyo a 100 level student in the department Biological Science, Federal University Lokoja.
Parading the suspects at the Police headquarter in Lokoja on Friday, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP William Ovye Aya noted the prime suspect Jeremiah Paul lured the deceased to bush and killed her for money ritual.
“The Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, attached to the State Intelligence Department (SID), Kogi Command, on 11/09/2024 at about 1615hrs arrested a 21 years old Jeremiah Paul Awe of Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State who is responsible for the kidnapped and killing of 17 years old Damilola Abigail Oluwoyo, a 100 Level Student of Biology Department of Federal University Lokoja.
“This is consequence upon a complaint received on 6Th September, 2024 from one Stephen Oluwoyo that, his daughter Damilola was missing and that her GSM number could not be reached after her examination on 2nd September, 2024. He further stated that he received a message from an unknown GSM number that his daughter Damilola has been abducted and the abductor demanded for a ransom.
“The Operatives promptly swung into action through an actionable intelligence with the assistance of the Technical Intelligence Unit (TIU) from the Force Headquarters, trailed and arrested the suspect one Jeremiah Paul Awe on 11/09/2024 in Connection with the crime. During interrogation, the suspect confessed to have kidnapped and killed the victim, Damilola on 4th September, 2024 at about 2030hrs. He further confessed that, he added a drug (codeine) into a drink and gave it to her to make her weak and lured her into a nearby bush close to his lodge at Felele area of Lokoja where he strangled her to death, mutilated her eyes, lung, liver, tongue, intestines, and fleshy parts of her buttocks and dumped the corpse in the bush.
“He further disclosed that, immediately he killed his victim, he placed a call to the father and demanded for a ransom to enable him meet up with the requirements for the rituals from the native doctor whom he met on TikTok. The father of the deceased sent the sum of N400,000 as ransom unknown to him that his daughter was already dead.
“On 11/09/2024, the suspect led the team of Operatives to the scene where the corpse of late Damilola was recovered, evacuated and deposited at the Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja mortuary for autopsy.
“Further investigation led to the arrest of three other suspects: Barnabas Olugbenga 20 years old from Kaduna State; Ajani Basit Ayomide of Felele 20 years old; Emmanuel Otitoju 24 years, two of which are his friends who aided the crime,” Aya said.
He appealed to parents and students to be conscious of the kind of people they are moving with.
“You may be seeing somebody as human being but he is not.This act that Jeremiah Paul and his gang have carried out is an inhuman act. Imagine a 20 years old boy going this far in killing an innocent lady and removing her sensitive parts in the name of carrying our rituals.
“It shows that I the society we are living in people needs to be very careful. I am calling on students across the various institutions to be very careful with their friends, course mates and neighbors they are mingling with. Some people will be within the school environment but they are not students.
“Some may have admission and they are in school, but they have their own aim of being there. Students should be contented with what they have. Because of little thing, this girl lost her life. A 17 years old that has a future has been cut short by this criminals,” Aya counselled.
He warned that the case of Jeremiah and his cohort should be a signal to all the criminals in Kogi State, adding that the eagle eye of the Police and other security agencies is on all the criminal elements in the state.
“We are now sending a warning to all criminals to beware that the effective collaboration of the Police and other security agencies with the support of the public, criminals will not have Kogi State as a safe haven to carry out their heinous acts.”
Aya noted that the command will arraign the fours suspects as soon as investigation is concluded.
