Two yet-to-be-identified persons were reportedly lynched by a mob for allegedly killing a 12-year-old boy, Ayomide Agunbiade, for ritual purposes in the Odo Alaro area of Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State on Tuesday.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Agunbiade had gone missing on Christmas Day (Monday) which was his birthday after someone identified to be his uncle had come to pick him up in the absence of his mother that he wanted to celebrate his birthday with him.

A village elder who pleaded anonymity because he was not permitted to speak on the matter told our correspondent that it was when the case of the missing child was escalated within the community on Tuesday that a boy, said to have witnessed the moment the missing boy went with his uncle, told the search party that an uncle took him out on Monday.

The source further informed PUNCH Metro that when the uncle was confronted about the allegation of knowing the whereabouts of the missing boy, he denied anything about his whereabouts but that the boy insisted that he was the one who came to pick him for the birthday celebration.

It was also gathered that upon further interrogation by some community members, the said uncle confessed to know Agunbiade’s whereabouts but told them that he had killed him for ritual purposes.

The source said, “The boy went missing on Christmas Day (Monday) which was his birthday. We learnt that an uncle of his had come to pick him up when his mother was not at home. He was playing with other children in the community when the man came to pick him up that he wanted to celebrate his birthday with him.

“It was yesterday (Tuesday), when the family began to look for him but couldn’t find him that they raised the alarm in the community before a boy whom they were playing together with told the family that it was an uncle that came to pick him for his birthday celebration.

“When we asked the man to take us to the place the child was, he and one other guy took us to an uncompleted building where we found the body of Ayomide with his head missing.

“It was the sight of the state of Ayomide (Agunbiade) that infuriated the crowd who had gathered in numbers. The crowd descended on them and lynched them before police officers came around and took their bodies away.”

When contacted for a reaction, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, did not respond to messages sent to her and did not reply to calls made to her line as of the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, a senior police source close to the community confirmed the incident but declined to comment further for lack of authority to speak with the media.

“The incident truly happened but you know I cannot make comments on it because I am not authorised to speak with the media.” (The PUNCH)

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