The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 29-year-old man, Ogunnaike Philip, on suspicion of abducting and killing at least three young women, including an 18-year-old, in separate incidents across the state.
According to the command, Philip’s method
involved luring his victims into the forest, tying them up, strangling them, and abandoning their bodies after stealing their phones. The suspect is also believed to have escaped from the lbara Correctional Centre two years ago while being transported to the Magistrate Court in Isabo for an ongoing armed robbery case.
Announcing the arrest on Friday, the command
revealed that Philip had confessed to the murders of 18-year-old Akinsanya Habibat, 22-year-old nurse Abigail Dina, and 23-year-old Mary Ogunyemi.
In a statement released by the command’s
spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, it was disclosed that Philip led police officers to the multiple oocations where he had murdered his victims and abandoned their bodies.
One of the victims, 22-year-old Abigail Dina, a
nurse, was abducted on May 6, 2024, while on
her way to work at Sodipo Medical Centre in Itori. The suspect lured her into a forest in Itori, stole her iPhone XR, and strangled her. He then
contacted her family, demanding a ransom of
N50,000 before abandoning her body.
“The kidnapper stole an iphone XR from the
victim and then strangled her to death.
Subsequently, he contacted her family by phone and demanded a ransom of N50,000,” the police statement read.
Philip also confessed to abducting 23-year-old
Mary Ogunyemi on July 3, 2024. He lured her to a bush in Asero Estate, tied her up, and, with the help of an accomplice, strangled her. They later demanded a ransom of N17,000 from her mother before fleeing to Badagry, Lagos State, where they sold her stolen iphone for N8,000.
The suspect was also responsible for the murder of his employer’s 18-year-old daughter, Akinsanya Habibat, on August 30, 2024. Philip kidnapped, raped, and strangled her on her father’s farm in Mile 6, Abeokuta. He later demanded a ransom from her family, even though she had already been killed.
“The father received a phone call on his daughter Habibat Akinsanya’s phone, informing him that she had been kidnapped and that he needed to pay a ransom of one million naira for her release,’ the command noted. Despite the payment of N30,000, the victim’s body was found on her father’s farm.
The police are continuing their investigation and are currently searching for Philip’s accomplice,who remains at large.
