Three teenagers between the age of 16 to 19 were caught burning the skull of a girl after slaughtering her for money ritual in Oke Aregba area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital .

The slain girl was said to be in a relationship with one of them identified as Soliu who has escaped arrest .

Men of Ogun state police command arrested the three teenagers in the early hours of Saturday following the tip off by one Mr Segun Adewusi, who is the community security guard.

Adewusi was reported to have observed that four boys were burning something suspected to he human head in a local pot .

The security guard immediately alerted the police at Adatan station, who went to the scene and arrested the three boys. while the fourth one had escaped before the police arrived .

A source, who confirmed the incident to our correspondent said the slain girl, identified as Rofiat, was a resident of Idi-Ape; and was a girlfriend to one Soliu, who is now in police net.

Soliu was said to have lured the girl to his room, where he held her down and asked one of his friends to slaughter her with a knife.

The source said “the arrested suspects were identified as 17-year-old Wariz Oladeinde from Kugba, 19-year-old Abdulgafar Lukman from Kugba and Mustakeem Balogun from Bode Olude, all in Abeokuta.

It was gathered that Soliu was the boyfriend of the girl who had run away, but was reported to have been arrested later.

The source further said “they killed Rofiat, cut her head, packed the headless body in a sack and started burning the head in a pot. They told the police in the presence of a mammoth crowd that they wanted to use it for money ritual.

“The police have taken the body away to a mortuary.”

Meanwhile, in a video clip made available to our correspondent, Mustakeem Balogun, was heard saying, “We wanted to use just her head alone for money ritual. Soliu strangled her and he told me to assist him and we cut off her head.”

Confirming the incident, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi said the three boys have been arrested .

Oyeyemi said “three young boys whose ages range between 17and 20 years were in the early hours of Saturday 29th of January 2022 arrested by men of Ogun state police command for killing a girlfriend of their friend for money making ritual.

“The suspect, Wariz Oladehinde, 17 years, Abdul Gafar Lukman 19 years and Mustakeem Balogun 20 years were all arrested following an information received at Adatan divisional headquarters from the head of the community security guard, that the suspects were seen burning something suspected to be human head in a local pot.

“Upon the information, the DPO Adatan division, SP Abiodun Salau, quickly led his detectives to the scene, where the three suspects were arrested, while the fourth one who happened to be the boyfriend of the murdered girl escaped.

“On interrogation, the arrested suspects confessed that what they were burning in the local pot is the head of the girlfriend of their escaped accomplice.

“They confessed further that the girl who was simply identified as Rofiat was lured by her boyfriend simply identified as Soliu to where she was murdered by four of them, after which they cut off her head and packed the remains in a sack, and dumped it in an old building.

“They subsequently led policemen to the building, where the dismembered body was recovered and deposited at general hospital mortuary for autopsy.

“The short cutlass and a knife used in cutting off the deceased head were also recovered.”

The PPRO however said the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, who described the action of the suspects as height of callousness.

He said Bankole has ordered for a massive manhunt for the fleeing boyfriend of the victim by name Soliu.

” The CP also ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to homicide section of the state Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for discreet investigation with the view to arraign them in court as soon as possible.”