A man, Adedayo Oluwaseyidara, was remanded in custody on Friday after appearing before an Ekiti state chief magistrates’ court, Ado Ekiti District, to answer to accusations that he allegedly murdered one 17-year-old Emmanuel Adeyemo.
The defendant, said to be a prophet, was alleged to have given the deceased concoction to drink to cure bedwetting, but the deceased complained of a stomach ache after drinking it and died in the process.
The charge sheet read, “The defendant was on February 12, 2022 in Iyin Ekiti, reasonably suspected to have committed offence of murder on a 17-year-old Emmanuel Adeyemo, contrary to and punishable under Section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code, Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.”
In her statement to the police, a relative of the victim, Bisola, said the deceased was bedwetting and taken to the prophet for prayer.
She said the prophet told her to bring Adeyemo whom he claimed was possessed, alongside different types of fruits for appeasement to the gods.
She further said, “The prophet prepared the sacrifice and concoction and gave it to him (Adeyemo) to drink. Thereafter, the deceased started complaining of a stomach ache and later died.”
The police prosecutor, Sergeant Sodiq Adeniyi, made an ex parte application to remand the defendant in custody, saying, “granting the order will allow the police complete their investigation and forward the duplicate case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for legal advice.”
The presiding magistrate, Franca Olaiya, who granted the prosecutor’s request, ordered that the defendant be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services, Ado Ekiti, pending the legal advice from the office of the DPP. Olaiya adjourned the case to March 10, 2022 for mention.
