Friends and a cleric reportedly beheaded a 14-year-old boy in Oyo State for a money ritual.

Friends and a cleric reportedly beheaded a 14-year-old boy in Oyo State for a money ritual.

The Oyo State Police Command has announced that they have begun investigating the killing of 14-year-old Malik Kareem, allegedly for a money ritual in Ibadan.

According to the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Adewale Osifeso, the police are aware of the incident and have promptly launched an investigation to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. He assured the public that an update on the investigation would be provided once it is completed.

Reports indicate that the victim was beheaded for ritual purposes on Saturday evening in the Olorisaoko community, located within the Akinyele Local Government Area. The victim had recently finished his final West Africa Examination Council subject at Iyana Community Grammar School, Olode, Moniya, Ibadan.

Sources suggest that the victim and three of his peers had approached a now-absconded Muslim cleric for a money ritual on the same day. The three boys allegedly conspired with the cleric to kill their friend as part of the ritual.

A family member recounted, “I was at home when one of my brothers came rushing in to tell me about the tragic event. We immediately went to the scene, but the cleric had already fled. The victim’s body was discovered without a head, lying in a pool of blood at the cleric’s house. His head had already been burned. The three boys had arranged with the cleric to use their friend for the ritual. When they arrived, he was strangled, decapitated, and cremated. According to what we were told, they intended to use the remains in their ritual.”

It was also reported that the cleric’s house was later set on fire by unidentified youths from the community.