A 54-year-old man, Dauda Bello, who allegedly killed and cut off the wrists and ankles of a female victim, has pleaded for mercy, saying that he didn’t know when he was pushed by the devil to commit the crime.

The suspect also said what actually caused disagreement between him and the victim was her refusal to pay him the money due for the services of his children as house helps for the past two years.

Bello was arrested by operatives of Ogun State Police Command for killing a 71-year-old woman, Mrs Mesesi Adisa, popularly called Iya Bose, after which he reportedly cut off the victim’s body parts from the wrists and ankles.

In his confirmation of the arrest, the police image maker in the state, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said that it was prompted by the disappearance of the victim who did not return home after she said she was going to see the suspect.

This, the PPRO stated, made the victim’s relation to report a case of missing person at Sabo/Ilupeju Police Station.

He said that the case was transferred to anti-kidnapping unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department where technical, intelligence-based investigation was embarked upon.

“In the course of investigation, the SP Taiwo Opadiran-led team traced the last place visited by the victim to be the house of the suspect at Olodo area of Imala. The suspect was subsequently arrested and taken to custody for investigation.

“On interrogation, the suspect confessed to have known the victim for quite some time, and that they were both into the business of child trafficking. He stated further that he invited the victim on that fateful day to discuss their usual business, but on getting to his house, he discovered that the victim came with what he thought was a huge amount of money.

“This made him to hit the woman on the head with a heavy wooden stick, leading to the woman being unconscious, after which he carried her to the bush where he finally snuffed life out of her,” DSP Oyeyemi said.

He stated further that the suspect confessed that when he searched the woman’s body, he discovered that the victim only had the N22,200 with her which he took with disappointment.

“Having realized that his aim of getting much money from the victim was in vain, he decided to cut off her two wrists and ankles,” the police spokesman added.

He disclosed that the suspect took the police to the bush where he buried the victim in a shallow grave, while the dismembered body had been recovered and deposited in the mortuary.

In an interview with Saturday Tribune, the suspect, narrated his side of the story thus: “I’m from Ayetoro in Ogun State. My wife died in 2016 in an accident when she went to buy goods as a produce trader.

At a time, Mama Bose came to take two of my children to serve as house helps to her contacts, so that I would be getting their salaries. She was introduced to me by an acquaintance. I was told that she was serving as a link between families of children to be given out as house helps and the employers.

“At that time, I had heart problem and wanted to go to the hospital, but didn’t have money to spend. That was why I sought her help to help get employment for my two children. In the salary agreement, the employer was to pay N24,000 annually.

“The woman brought N24,000 to me for the first child and same amount for the second one. That was the last payment I got. For the past two years, I have not been paid anything. Not only that, I expressed my desire to see my children and know where they were but she was not forthcoming. I didn’t know where the children were taken to at the beginning because I was very sick then. It would get to a stage that I would be foaming in the mouth.

What led to disagreement

“My act was the work of the devil. I called her that I wanted to see the children but initially she didn’t come. She later asked me whether I wanted to seek employment for another child and I said yes. I asked her about the two children she initially took away for employment and she said that they were doing well and being taken care of. She said that they were attending schools. I thought of the money she had been owing as salaries of the children. That was when evil thought crept into me.

“I called and told her to meet me on the way to the farm. We met at the bush close to Olodo area on Imeko road between 8am and 9am. That was where we had farmland. I used to go to farm and return home in the evening.

“Our disagreement started when I asked and she started abusing me, saying that she was not having any money. I used the stick I was holding to hit her. That was how she fell. There was no one around in the area. Farmers did not come that day. I killed her there, buried her in a shallow grave and used leaves to cover her. I picked her bag, took the N22,200 I found in it and left for home in Ayetoro. I also took her mobile phone and kept it at home, but I have handed it over to the police.”

He however denied cutting the hands and legs, saying that it was likely that rains washed off her body parts I the shallow grave.

Commending the detectives for a job well done, the state Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, ordered that the case be charged to court as soon as investigation had been concluded. (Saturday Tribune)

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