Trainee herbalist arrested for alleged murder of 41-day-old son

The Ogun State Police Command has arrested Ifagbenga Taiwo, a trainee herbalist for allegedly slitting his 41-day-old son in the Keesi area of Adatan, Abeokuta, the state capital.

Taiwo claims he committed the act while under the influence of a spell.

The incident occurred last Monday after the baby’s mother, Raimat Wasilat, laid him on a bed while washing clothes outside their home.

Wasilat was said to have returned to the room and met her son with a slit throat, prompting her to raise the alarm, which attracted their neighbours and the police.

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The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, who confirmed the incident to our correspondent, disclosed that the wife had fingered her husband in his son’s death which prompted the police to take him into custody for further investigation.

Meanwhile, in an interrogation video obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, the suspect narrated how he used a knife to slit the throat of the infant.

He, however, blamed his action on the influence of a spell, stressing that he was not conscious of what he did until he had perpetrated the act.

According to Taiwo, on the day of the incident, he gave his wife a feeding allowance while going out to the place of his apprenticeship as she was washing some clothes outside.

He added that upon getting to his workplace, he realised that he had forgotten some charms, which he often used for protection at home and decided to return to pick them up.

He continued that while he was returning home, he realised that he was feeling uneasy and restless and that he felt like committing a crime.

Taiwo narrated in Yoruba (now translated), “I didn’t go home on Sunday due to engagements at work. I went home on Monday, and when I got home, I took my bath, gave my wife a feeding allowance, and left the house.

“It was when I got to work that I realised I had left the charms I used for self-protection at home. So, I went home to pick them up. After I picked them up, I returned to work.

“About an hour after I had returned to work, I just felt a breeze blow at me, and I began to feel uneasy. It was like something was circulating in my body, and I felt like committing a crime.”

He noted that upon returning home, he did not meet his wife outside at the spot where she was washing clothes, and he went inside, picked a knife, and slit the throat of his 41-day-old son.

“When I got home, I did not meet my wife at the spot where she was washing clothes. I went inside, and I continued feeling that I should commit a crime.

“I went into my mum’s room and picked a knife we had purchased in the Kuto market some time ago. I took the knife and went to where my son was laid, and that was what I remembered last before I came back to consciousness.

“When I realised that my son had been killed, I was wondering what had happened, and I was surprised. I had to flee through the back door of our house,” Taiwo said in the video.

When asked if he had allegedly killed his son in an attempt to divorce his wife, Taiwo replied, “I love my wife, and I did not plan to divorce her. I don’t know how it happened. I have done it before I realised what I did.”

“I fled after doing it because I didn’t know what to do. I am sorry about what I did.”

He appealed to the government to show him mercy.

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