A 26-year-old man, Oluwasegun Ayoola,
has lost the use of his two hands after he was allegedly tortured by a
herbalist in the Oke-Aro area of Lagos State.
It learnt that the
unidentified herbalist, who is still at large, tied the victim’s hands
and feet and dumped him in a clay pot for three days without food.
The victim was said to have been
released after some family members intervened. He was subsequently taken
to a hospital for treatment.
Oluwasegun was cleaning up his apartment on Idimu Road, Ejigbo, when he
collapsed and was taken to the herbalist’s shrine by a half-brother,
Afolabi.
His mother, Mrs. Kudirat Ayoola, said she never knew they were being taken to a shrine on the day of the incident.
She said, “My son lives in his late
father’s house in Ejigbo; I don’t stay with him. On April 30, 2016, I
was called that he had collapsed in the house. My stepson, Afolabi, and a
stepdaughter told me to join them because they were taking him for
treatment. I never knew it was a herbalist’s house they were taking us
to.
“When we got to Oke-Aro, they handed us
over to a herbalist. I protested, but they said it was for the
improvement of his health. They dropped us off and left.
“On the following day, the herbalist
poured palm oil around my son with candles and some fetish items. He
asked my son to kneel down while I should be praying. He brought out a
knife and a divination tablet. He said my son had become his meat.
“We were alarmed and my son started
struggling with him. I screamed for help. They started fighting and my
son headbutt the man. Some of the herbalist’s associates came and beat
up my son. They tied him up and dumped him in a clay pot. He was there
for three days.”
She added that efforts to locate a
police station in the neighbourhood to report the incident proved
abortive, adding that her relatives later came to free the victim.
Oluwasegun said the incident had left him disable, saying he depended on his mother for almost everything.
He said, “When I left the herbalist’s
place, I went to a police station in Agege to report the incident, but
the policeman I met at the counter didn’t attend to me because my hands
stank and flies were buzzing over my injuries.
I later saw a police patrol van, which
called an ambulance. I was given some treatment and taken back to the
house. But my condition has not improved. I depend on my mother to go to
the toilet, wear my clothes and even eat. I can’t do anything by
myself.”
However, Afolabi, the victim’s
half-brother, denied any complicity in the matter, saying he only joined
other family members to save Oluwasegun.
He said, “I was not around when he
collapsed. But we discovered he had lost his mind when he came round.
When the mental illness was getting out of hand, we arranged and took
him to the herbalist’s place at Oke-Aro.
“I was not there when he was tied up,
but I learnt that he struggled with the man, scattered his house and
injured him. We took him to the herbalist’s house for care. We had
spent a lot of money over him, I don’t have any more money to spend.”
It was learnt that Oluwasegun’s late father married three wives and had property in different parts of Lagos State.
His mother was said to be the third wife of the deceased, while he was the woman’s only son.
The Public Affairs Officer of the OPD,
Mr. Adeoba Adeniji-Adele, who confirmed the incident, said the agency
was still studying the case.
He said, “Spiritualists are not neurologist or certified physicians, so people have to be wary of them in medical matters.
“The first port of call in this case
should have been a hospital for proper diagnosis. Instead, he was taken
to a place where his treatment got out of hand. We are still studying
the case and appropriate action will be taken in due course.”
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