Suspected Ogun serial killer pleads for death sentence, reveals how he was lured into crime

Philip Ogunnaike, a suspected serial killer recently arrested in Ogun State, has made a shocking plea to be sentenced to death for his crimes.

In an interrogation video shared by the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, on her X page, Ogunnaike admitted to his involvement in multiple killings and expressed a desire for swift justice.

Ogunnaike revealed that he was coerced into a life of crime by a man named Danjuma and other accomplices who allegedly initiated him into the notorious Eiye confraternity.

According to him, his association with these individuals led him down a dark path, resulting in multiple murders.

During the interrogation, Ogunnaike urged the police to arrest Danjuma and the others involved in the criminal activities, emphasizing their role in pushing him toward this violent lifestyle.

However, his only request to the authorities was that he be sentenced to death once arraigned in court, a striking admission that underscores his remorse or resignation to his fate.

READ ALSO: Police arrest wanted armed robber, rape suspect in Ogun

“I don’t want anything other than the police to arrest Danjuma and others who initiated me into the Eiye cult. If we get to court, they should not bother hearing our case, they should just go and kill us.

“But before they kill us, they should give me food so that I can eat before they kill me because those that I killed may just have finished eating before I killed them,” he said in Yoruba (now translated).

Recall that on Friday the 29-year-old suspect was arrested on suspicion of killing at least three young girls, including an 18-year-old, in separate incidents across the state.

The command had 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 Ogunnaike had 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 those allegedly killed by him included 18-year-old Akinsanya Habibat, 22-year-old Abigail Dina, and 23-year-old Mary Ogunyemi.

Ogunnaike had confessed to killing the three victims and leaving their bodies in the forest. He had also led the police’s anti-kidnapping team to multiple locations where the three victims were murdered.

He, along with an accomplice who is currently at large, was accused of luring his neighbour’s 23-year-old daughter, Ogunyemi, to a forest. They allegedly tied her up, strangled her, and abandoned her body after stealing her phone.

The statement added, “On July 3, 2024, at approximately 10 a.m., the late Mary Ogunyemi, a 23-year-old lady, was sent by her mother, Mrs. Ogunyemi Esther, to buy fruits at Adatan from Asero Estate. She was accompanied by the suspect, Philip.

“Philip, a male suspect, was staying with someone in the same compound as the victim. He lured her to a nearby bush in Asero Estate and called in another accomplice to assist him in the kidnapping.

“The victim was bound with rope and robbed of an iPhone S. Philip Ogunnaike and his accomplice jointly strangled her to death. The two criminals later contacted the victim’s mother by phone and demanded a ransom of seventeen thousand naira.

“The duo abandoned the corpse of the victim inside the bush and fled to Badagry, Lagos State, to sell off the stolen iPhone S at the rate of N8,000.”

The command stated that the suspect was responsible for the death of his employer’s 18-year-old daughter Akinsanya in an incident that took place at Mile 6, Abeokuta, on August 30, 2024, around 5 pm.

Ogunnaike had allegedly kidnapped the victim, raped her, and then strangled her to death with a rope on her father’s farm in the community.

He later called the parents to demand a ransom before fleeing the scene.

The command noted, “The father received a phone call on his daughter Habibat Akinsanya’s phone, informing him that she, aged 18, had been kidnapped and that he needed to pay a ransom of N1m for her release.

“The victim’s father subsequently paid N30,000 to the Moniepoint account number given by the kidnapper. Later, her body was discovered on her father’s farmland in Obasa village, Mile 6, Abeokuta, Ogun State, along with her PoS machine found beside her.

“The suspect admitted that the victim’s father employed him and was working on the farm when he saw the victim passing by. He lured her to the farm and then tied her legs with a rope.”

Meanwhile, the state Police Commissioner, Abiodun Alamutu, has disclosed that a manhunt had begun for other accomplices of Ogunnaike.

(Punch)