Ritual killers butcher 73 year old pensioner in Ekiti

Some assailants, suspected to be ritual killers, on Tuesday killed a 73-year-old pensioner, Mrs. Adetutu Ajayi, in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State. Adetutu, the daughter of a former Accountant General of the Old Western Region, Mr. Samuel Sotoowa, was butchered at her residence on Moferere Street, in the Ajilosun area of Ado Ekiti.

The deceased was found in a pool of blood in her three-bedroomed bungalow by church members around 11am, with her fingers cut off. Different parts of her body also had machete cuts.

The mother of five, who lived alone in the flat with a tenant occupying the boys’ quarters, retired from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, where she worked for 35 years.

The deceased’s daughter, Mrs. Titilayo Ajayi, said she was informed about the incident by her late mother’s church members.

 She said, “When I got here, I saw my mother in a pool of blood. Her blood had been drained and taken away by the assailants and her fingers were cut off, which made us to suspect that it was done by ritual killers.

“She ought to attend a vigil at Christ Apostolic Church, Voice of God parish, but when the pastor did not see her, he was worried and sent a delegation to check on her. When they got here, they saw her lifeless body and they immediately raised the alarm.

“We saw the record Mama left on the calendar because anytime she woke up around 5am, she would take her bath and mark the calendar. We saw the calendar marked that day which suggested that she was killed as early as 5am.”

She said her remains had been deposited in the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital mortuary, Ado Ekiti.

The 82-year-old husband of the deceased, Mr. Clement Ajayi, who lived at Irun Ekiti, described the incident as “sad, pathetic and surprising,” saying it confirmed that the lives of Nigerians were not safe.

“I could not imagine myself seeing my wife being hacked like that, over what? In fact, her head, eyes, hands, laps and neck were cut with a machete; you can hardly identify her. Justice must be done in this matter,” he said.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti, Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, said the corpse had been deposited in the morgue.

“Our men are working round-the-clock to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book,” he added.

Punch