The Ogun State Police Command has detained a 29-year-old individual, Ogunnaike Philip, under suspicion of murdering at least three young girls, one of whom is 18 years old, in different incidents throughout the state.
According to the police, the suspect’s approach involved enticing his victims into the woods, where he would restrain them, strangle them, and subsequently leave their bodies behind after taking their mobile phones.
The authorities reported that inquiries indicated the suspect is believed to be a serial killer who fled from the Ibara Correctional Centre nearly two years ago while being transported to the Isabo Magistrate Court for an ongoing armed robbery trial.
In a press conference on Friday, the authorities disclosed that Philip’s victims included 18-year-old Akinsanya Habibat, 22-year-old Abigail Dina, and 23-year-old Mary Ogunyemi.
In a statement issued late Friday by the spokesperson for the command, Omolola Odutola, it was disclosed that Philip admitted to murdering the three victims and abandoning their remains in the woods.
After his admission, the suspect guided the police anti-kidnapping unit to various sites where the three victims were slain.
As reported by the police, 22-year-old nurse Dina departed from her residence in Iyana Egbado, Ewekoro Local Government, at 8:10 AM on May 6, 2024, to go to her job at Sodipo Medical Centre in Itori, when she was kidnapped by the suspect and taken to an undisclosed forest in Itori.
The statement read, “The kidnapper stole an iPhone XR from the victim and then strangled her to death. Subsequently, he contacted her family by phone and demanded a ransom of N50,000.
“Afterward, the suspect abandoned her body in the forest. Ogunnaike Philip, a male suspect, was arrested in connection with the case and confessed to committing the crime.
“The suspect confessed that he fled to Saki town in Oyo State, where he exchanged the stolen iPhone XR for an Infinix Hot 10 and received a cash sum of N65,000.”
“The victim was bound with rope and robbed of an iPhone S. Ogunnaike Philip 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 order indicated that the accused was accountable for the death of his employer’s 18-year-old daughter, Akinsanya, during an event that occurred at Mile 6, Abeokuta, on August 30, 2024, at approximately 5 pm.
Philip is accused of abducting the victim, sexually assaulting her, and subsequently strangling her with a rope on her father’s farm within the area.
He subsequently contacted the parents to request a ransom before escaping the location.
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 one million naira 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 rope.”
