Police arrest herbalist for killing woman

A Herbalist, named Femi Emmanuel is currently in the custody of the Kwara state police command for allegedly causing the death of a 45-year-old woman.  

Deceased, a mother of two was named Tawakalitu Mukaila. 

Tawakalitu was said to have died in the house of Emmanuel in Ila-Odo-owa, in Oke-Ero local government area of the state. 

Senior police officer at the Ilofa police station in Oke-Ero, who preferred anonymity, confirmed the incident. 

He said the case file of the suspect, the body of the victim and her niece had been transferred to the police Headquarters in Ilorin for further investigation. 

The source said it took the intervention of the policemen in the command that prevented the suspect from being lynched by an irate mob that had gathered at his house during his arrest. 

Tawakalitu, a trader and resident of Ago-Oru area of Omu-Aran, it was gathered was said to have been accosted by Emmanuel while hawking rice and beans inside Omu-Aran market few months ago. 

During the encounter, it was learnt that Emmanuel claimed that Tawakalitu and her family were under some spell which needed urgent deliverance. 

Emmanuel was said to have corroborated his claim by narrating with exact precision some past negative incident in the family of the deceased, Tawakalitu, who hailed from Isale-Oyo in Oyo State. 

Tawakalitu’s husbsnd, Mukaila, a driver who hailed from Oke-ode in Kwara state had been a victim of a ghastly motor accident some four years ago. The accident rendered him incapacitated making him resort to use of crutches. 

It was gathered that after constant pressure allegedly by fetish means, Emmanuel was said to have met the deceased inside the same market on Thursday March 21, in Omu-Aran and ordered her to his house in Ila-Odo-owa. 

Tawakalitu was said to have immediately left her wares and headed for Emmanuel’s place along with her 17-year-old niece, identified as Azeezat, an SS1 student. 

Mukaila while narrating the circumstances of Tawakalitu’s death said she was an honest, trustworthy and caring woman who had never involved herself in any indecent acts. 

“She was the breadwinner of the family, trustworthy and very caring even after my accident left me incapacitated. Her sudden death this way remained a mystery to me. 

“On that fateful day, few months ago Tawa told me about what one Emmanuel, a spiritual told him while hawking inside Omu-Aran market and I told her to ignore such fake antics from the said spiritualist. 

“But after then my wife will always complain about the pressure from the same Emmanuel and I cannot stop her from doing her legitimate business which she has been using to feed us, more so I’m not that fit. 

“Not until Thursday March 21, that she disappeared with her nice, Azeezat and we became worried and all efforts to locate her by a search party proved abortive. 

Narrating further Mukaila said it was on Sunday morning that Azeezat suddenly appeared looking pale and exhausted and narrated to them what transpired between the deceased and the spiritualist at Ila-Odo-owa. 

“Azeezat told us that she and Tawakalitu slept in the house of the spiritualist on Thursday and Friday nights and that on Saturday morning he gave Tawakalitu a concoction to drink with pap.

“She said after drinking the concoction Emmanuel gave her (Tawakalitu) a bowl where she vomited some liquid portions which the spiritualist took away. 

“Azeezat said it was after vomiting that Tawakalitu became very weak, exhausted and unconscious and died few minutes later. 

According to Mukaila, Azeezat claimed that after she died Emmanuel bundled her body inside a room, locked them together with a warning that she too would die in the same manner if she dared narrate what happened to anybody. 

“Azeezat told us that it was on Sunday morning.