The embattled 20 Jeremiah Paul, who killed 19 year – old, 100 Level Student of Federal University Lokoja in Kogi state, Damilola Olowoyo, has confessed that he tricked the deceased into the bush and killed her for money ritual purposes.
Jeremiah, who hailed from Chikun Local Government Area in Kaduna State, in his confessional statement while being paraded along with three other suspects, said, “I came to Kogi State to hustle. I met Damilola last week on Sunday and approached her, and she accepted. We started chatting. I already knew that I wanted to use Damilola for ritual. I bought codeine and Sprite, missed them, and gave them to her.
“I first drank it so that she wouldn’t suspect it. When She drank it, I told her to 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.
I used the cloth she was wearing 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 in Ibadan sent a driver and brought calabash and a knife. In the calabash, he used 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 the eyes, tongue, lungs, intestine and some parts 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 prime suspect stated.
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 on TikTok. Then, we took his number and chatted him up so that he could do soap for us. When my friend gathered the money, we didn’t have money to lodge when we came to Lokoja. So, we decided to stay with a friend before we travelled 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 to kill 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 a misunderstanding with her boyfriend, which I told her to settle with him. The deceased told me she was 16 years and I responded that I couldn’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, 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 Barnabas called me that he is in Lokoja right now and is planning to travel to Ibadan. He told me that he would stay at my place for a while before continuing his journey. He brought his friend Jeremiah, and they both travelled 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.
The State Police Command Public Relations Officer, PRO, SP Williams Aya, narrated how the suspects were arrested.
Aya said there was a complaint to the Commissioner of Police about the disappearance of Damilola Orowoyo, a 100-level student in the Department of Biological Science, Federal University Lokoja.
SP Aya disclosed that the prime suspect, Jeremiah Paul, lured the deceased to the bush and killed her for a 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 consequent 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 had been abducted, and the abductor demanded 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 having 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 in the 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 after he killed his victim, he placed a call to the father and demanded a ransom to enable him to meet 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 company their children keep.
“You may be seeing somebody as a human being, but he is not. This act that Jeremiah Paul and his gang have carried out is inhuman. Imagine a 20-year-old boy going this far in killing an innocent lady and removing her sensitive parts in the name of carrying out our rituals.
“It shows the kind of society we live in, and people must be very careful. I am calling on students across the various institutions to be very careful with their friends, coursemates. and neighbors they are mingling with. Some people,” The Police Spokesman stated.
