Oyo government owns building used for ritual – Accord Party

The Accord Party in Oyo State on Wednesday called on the National Human Rights Commission and civil society groups to investigate the suspected killings at Soka, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The party, which made the call at a news conference in Ibadan, also called on the state government to clear the air on the true status of the controversial property in which the suspected killings were said to have been carried out.

No fewer than 20 decomposed bodies and some emaciated captives were found in an apartment in Soka on Saturday.

A chieftain of the Accord Party, Chief Ayodele Adigun, claimed that the land on which the property was sited belonged to the state government, having revoked its Certificate of Occupancy from the earlier occupiers.

Adigun also claimed that the property was first occupied by a contractor that initially handled the Ogunpa channelisation project.

Adigun, however, said the contract was revoked and handed over to another contractor, adding that the equipment found at the site were those impounded by the state government in 2000.

He further claimed that the Ministry of Environment took over the premises and even carried out some pilot projects there, including a rehabilitation centre for the destitute and mentally challenged.

Adigun said some criminals might have taken advantage of the lax security in the area to carry out the attacks on those allegedly dumped there.

But the Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has denied any involvement in the establishment of any project in the controversial area.

“Both the good and bad things are attributed to the leader, but I understand that the place was set up 10 years ago and I only came as governor less than four years ago,” Ajimobi said.

Ajimobi said he learnt that a woman even delivered a baby there seven years ago.

He said that the developments there had nothing to do with him.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress in the state has urged residents to ignore the claims of the Accord Party, saying it only wanted to take advantage of the situation to gain political mileage.

The Interim State Publicity Secretary of the APC in Oyo State, Dauda Kolawole, said in a statement on Wednesday that the incident rather called for sober reflection.

Kolawole said: “The people of Oyo State are in a state of grief and shock at the horrendous discovery of ritual killers’ den in the state.

“The situation calls for sober reflection from all and sundry.”

The APC said that from the testimonies of the kidnapped victims, it was obvious that the apartment had been in existence for almost 10 years.