The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 29-year-old man, Ogunnaike Philip, on suspicion of killing at least three young girls, including an 18-year-old, in separate incidents across the state.
The Command stated that the suspect’s method was to lure his victims into the forest, where he would tie them up, strangle them, and then abandon their bodies after stealing their phones.
According to the command, investigations revealed that the suspect is a suspected serial killer who escaped from the Ibara Correctional Centre about two years ago while being taken to the Magistrate Court in Isabo for an ongoing armed robbery case.
While announcing the arrest on Friday, the command revealed that the victims of Philip’s crimes included 18-year-old Akinsanya Habibat, 22-year-old Abigail Dina, and 23-Year-Old Mary Ogunyemi.
In a statement released late Friday by the command’s spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, it was revealed that Philip had confessed to killing the three victims and leaving their bodies in the forest.
Following his confession, the suspect led the police’s anti-kidnapping team to multiple locations where the three victims were murdered.
According to the police, 22-year-old nurse Dina left her home at 8:10 am on May 6, 2024, in Iyana Egbado, Ewekoro Local Government, to head to her workplace at Sodipo Medical Centre in Itori, when she was abducted by the suspect and taken to an unknown forest in Itori.
The statement read, “The kidnapper stole an iPhone XR from the victim and then strangled her to death. Subsequently, he contacted her family by phone and demanded a ransom of N50,000.
“Afterward, the suspect abandoned her body in the forest. Ogunnaike Philip, a male suspect, was arrested in connection with the case and confessed to committing the crime.
“The suspect confessed that he fled to Saki town in Oyo State, where he exchanged the stolen iPhone XR for an Infinix Hot 10 and received a cash sum of N65,000.”
