The Lagos State Police Command has praised the residents of the Adamo area in Ikorodu for capturing a suspect known as Babalola, who was reportedly found in possession of a human skull.
Report state that the residents handed over the suspect, identified as an Islamic cleric named Babalola, to the police. He was reportedly apprehended along with several others who are yet to be identified.
A 29-second video obtained by our correspondent from a resident on Saturday depicted the moment when the man, dressed in native attire, was surrounded by residents and officials of the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps.
In the video, he can be seen placing a human skull and other suspected human parts into a polythene bag, all while bleeding from one of his eyes.
Details of the incident remain unclear as of press time, but the spokesperson for the state police command, Benjamin Hundeyin, assured the residents on Saturday, through his handle @BenHundeyin, that justice would be served regarding the matter.
“We commend the good people of Ikorodu for doing the right thing and not yielding to jungle justice. We will ensure justice is done,” Hundeyin said while retweeting the post by an X user, @DejiAdesogan, about the incident.
“Residents of Adamo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State, have handed over a popular Islamic cleric and four of his men to the police after they were allegedly caught with a human skull and other parts of a human body,” @DejiAdesogan posted late Friday.
A resident, known only as Ayo, also informed our correspondent on Saturday that the individual was captured on Thursday.
Ayo said, “The man was caught alongside others in the Adamo area of Ikorodu. They’ve been taken to the anti-kidnapping police unit at Araro, Adamo.”
Some X users on Saturday, however, noted that the man may not have been a genuine cleric.
@SenTawfiq posted, “Call him Babalawo (traditionalist), not Chief Imam please.”
“Babalawo, not imam,” @Muneersyeed wrote.
“Chief Imam ke! This one is a Babalawo, hiding under the banner of Islam as a chief Imam. God forbid bad things abeg,” @MusaMD81 said in a comment.
The occurrence comes amid escalating concerns over the recent surge in kidnapping incidents across the country. Previously confined to the North-West, abductions have, of late, extended to other regions, including Lagos, Ogun, and Delta States, as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
The crisis reached a critical point last week when bandits expanded their activities to the FCT, kidnapping 23 individuals in the Bwari area of the federal capital.
In an effort to combat this menace, the Federal Government issued a warning on Wednesday against the practice of raising funds for ransoms.
Expressing apprehension about the widespread abduction phenomenon, the South-South governors on Thursday called on the Federal Government to take more decisive action in addressing the security challenges across the country.