Olumide Lawal never imagined his routine day as a commercial driver would turn into a father’s worst nightmare. On July 21, his 16-year-old son, Wahab Lawal, went missing in the Igbile Ijebu area of Ogun State. Two days later, Olumide would find his son’s mutilated body—beheaded, with his wrists, heart, and genitals removed—dumped along the expressway like refuse.
His voice breaking, Olumide told Punch Metro that he received a call from his mother asking if Wahab was at his house. The boy hadn’t returned home. Alarmed, Olumide rushed from Ijebu-Ode back to their community, combing every corner in search of his only son.
When villagers spotted Wahab’s clothes and sandals on the roadside, dread set in. “I took a bike there and saw my son’s corpse. They butchered him like an animal,” Olumide recounted, his voice soaked in grief.
Police investigations, aided by Olumide’s own detective work, led to the arrest of Salawu Omikansola—who allegedly confessed to killing Wahab on the orders of a traditionalist named Serefusi. Serefusi, described as the head of the local Agemo worshippers, was also taken into custody.
Now, Olumide’s pain has turned into a cry for justice. “I am hearing that Serefusi is powerful and may escape punishment. Please, I beg the government—don’t let my son’s death go unpunished,” he pleaded.
His plea comes as Nigerians reel from similar horrors, including the recent arrest of a woman in Anambra State linked to the ritual killing of a pregnant nurse. These recurring tragedies paint a chilling picture of a society grappling with the deadly intersections of poverty, superstition, and impunity.
Wahab’s story is not just a headline—it’s a call to action. A plea from a father whose child was taken in the most gruesome way, asking only for justice to speak where his son no longer can.
