A 49-year-old man identified as Ganiyu Shina of No 4, Oguji street, Obantoko Abeokuta, was on Thursday, December 15, arrested by men of the Ogun state Police Command for bathing with blood at a community river in Kotopo area of Odeda local government.
The suspect was arrested when members of the community sighted him at the River Bank, where he parked his Nissan commercial vehicle, came out with local sponge and a container filled with blood and started bathing with it.
Immediately he discovered that some people were watching him, he took to his heels, but was chased and apprehended by members of the community. A call was made to the police at Aregbe divisional headquarters by a member of the community, and the DPO, SP Bunmi Asogbon quickly led the patrol team to the scene, from where the suspect was brought to the station.
On interrogation, the suspect claimed to have a spiritual problem, and that a herbalist instructed him to perform the ritual. He claimed further that the blood in his possession is not human blood, but that of cow.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the state police command, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the state Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Bankole, has directed that the remaining blood should be taken for laboratory analysis, to ascertain whether it is human blood or not.
He added that the police boss has also praised members of the community for not taking laws into their hands and assured them that the suspect will be properly investigated.
