For residents of Iperu and Ogere in Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, free movement is now a choice between life and death. From dusk to dawn, they are gripped by fear of the unknown; fear of one of their own who has become a serial killer.
Since April, this year, a man simply identified as Spartan, has been on a killing spree, and is alleged to have butchered several persons who were unlucky to have crossed his path in the bushes of the two communities.
Though not medically proven, Spartan, an indigene of Iperu, is suspected to be demented, and roams with a cutlass in search of a prey. He had a field day on Sunday, July 26, killing an unidentified man and a woman within a period of six hours.
His first victim was a hunter in Iperu who he tracked to a farm and murdered in split seconds at about 9.am. By 3.pm, he had snuffed life out of another woman who had gone to a well in the bush to fetch water.
Spartan’s savagery has sent jitters down the spines of residents of neighbouring communities, as his victims raise the figures in police murder statistics.
Edward Ajogun, Ogun State commissioner of police who recently assumed duties, is worried over his murderous exploits, and is reportedly taking steps to stop the gruesome flow of blood in Iperu and Ogere.
The police chief was said to have personally led a team of crack operatives, hunters and farmers in an operation to track and arrest Spartan, a mission that was unsuccessful. Thus, he has offered a reward of N200,000 for any person who helped the police to arrest him.
A police report on July 28, at the command headquarters in Abeokuta, indicated that the hunt for Spartan continues and the “entire command would not be at rest until he is caught dead or alive and a stop be put to his homicidal terror”.
Abimbola Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and spokesperson for the Ogun State police command was evasive when contacted for comments on the issue. “I will call you back when I get to the office”, he said on Wednesday in response to Scudnews enquiries on telephone. However, he did not revert as promised at the time of filing this report.
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