Another Okija Shrine Found In Ibadan
Some of the fetish objects found in
the
shrine. Photo: Tunde Babajide
The Nigeria Police, Oyo State Command, may have discovered another shrine in the mould of the (in)famous Okija Shrine in Anambra State; only this time, in the heart of the ancient city of Ibadan, ROTIMI OMOLE writes
BANKOLE Village, Located In Ajia Community of Ona Ara Local Government
Area of Oyo State, may be unpopular to many, but not to some individuals whose quest for easy money regularly leads them to Agbomola Shrine in the same area, where Prince Demola Adelusi held sway as chief priest.
However, Prince Adelusi’s unethical activities were brought to an abrupt end last Friday when the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ms Bisi Okuwobi, led newsmen and police detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCIB), Iyaganku, to visit the shrine.
At the Agbomola shrine were several fetish objects capable of sending jitters down the spine of a first time caller. The shrine, built with mud, is located on a plot of land and fenced round with Bagco super sacks. In the shrine are two mud houses (which contain dreadful effigies surrounded by more than 100 broken bottles of Aromatic Schnapps) linked together through an underground tunnel. The houses are adorned with fresh palm fronds (called ‘mariwo’ in Yoruba).
Asked to explain the purpose of the tunnel that links the two mud houses, Adelusi said he kept herbs and other ornaments there.
According to him: “I’m a herbalist. I keep herbs which I use to treat my patients there. Nothing else.”
The police seemed to believe him, for as the Agbomola chief tried to enter the tunnel to speak on another hole within it, he was prevented from doing so, apparently fearing he might disappear suddenly.
According to the PPRO, “There’s no doubt that this man may be practising more than dispensing herbal treatment here. He calls himself a herbalist, but he can’t practise his profession in an open place; he chooses to come to this thick forest to operate, shielded off from the prying eyes of passersby.
“Certainly, he is not telling the truth. We suspect that he may be practising human rituals for making money in this shrine. He must have been using the underground tunnel (which also contains another deep open hole) to perpetrate dastardly acts like human sacrifices.”
She continued: “We’ve heard stories of missing persons all over the place. Nobody could say precisely where those unfortunate people are taken to. We are suspecting that such missing persons may have been taken to this hideout. What we are saying is that we’re still going to interrogate him on why he has to dig such a big hole inside the tunnel that link the two mud houses. This may be another ‘Okija shrine’ in Ibadan. The patrons, the patronesses and the clients will be exposed. We’re still investigating.”
While explaining his mission in the jungle, in a chat with Saturday Tribune, the Chief Priest, who claimed to come from Ekiti State, said his friend, one Ajimututu, gave him the piece of land in the village.
He said, “I’ve been operating here since two years ago. I inherited this profession from my father. I lived in Yemetu area of Ibadan. I also sleep here.”
When asked to produce the particulars of the land, Adelusi said he bought the piece of land from his friend for only N40,000.
According to him “he did not give me any receipt to back up the payment.”
Asked if he told his friend what he was going to use the land for, he said no.
However, efforts to speak with the Baale of Ajia community where the chief priest operates were unsuccessful, as the Baale was said to have gone to the farm. Ajia is an agrarian community.
A Togolese woman who claimed that she came to visit her brother living in the neighbourhood said exotic cars and prominent people from distant places visit the shrine very early in the morning, while some arrive late in the night and level the next day.
According to her, “I just came to visit my people here; so many important people usually visit this shrine with their good cars. I don’t know what they do there. They don’t disturb us; they mind their ways.”
Littering the surrounding of the shrine were skeletons of cows and goats, while the chief priest was also said to have confessed that cows and goats were often killed in the Agbomola’s shrine to appease the goddess of the shrine.
Saturday Tribune saw sand freshly dug out of the ground, indicating that some objects must have been buried there.
Prince Adelusi (chief priest) was led by police detectives from one scene to another in the shrine to explain the functions of the fetish objects.
A woman suspected to be the chief priest’s mistress was arrested by the police detectives. She eventually confessed to being the chief priest’s lover.
She said, “Prince Adelusi is my manfriend (sic!). I never knew that he was involved in this type of business. All I knew was that he used to sell Tokunbo cars and uses a Honda Accord. He also told me that he had lost his wife.”
Interrogated further, she confessed that she and Adelusi had been seeing each other for almost a year.
Ms Okuwobi declared, “She is an accomplice. She will help us in the course of our investigation. We are going to unravel the truth about this matter.”
As the nation awaits the outcome of the investigation by the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Taiwo Lakanu, to unravel the mystery behind this strange shrine, as well as the identity of its influential patrons, not a few already believe that this may be another ‘Okija’ shrine right in the heart of the ancient city of Ibadan.
