DETECTIVES
of the Oyo State Police Command are battling to unravel the mystery
behind the death of two brothers one after the other and an attack on
their uncle accused of killing them with a deadly anti-adultery charm,
magun, laced in the bossom of his wife and that of his brother.
The uncle is lying critically ill in a hospital in Ibadan after irate youths attacked him following the death of the second man.
The
incident happened at Jagun community near Iyana Ofa, Lagelu Local
Government Area of Oyo State, a serene settlement where people whose
lifestyles are closer to nature dwell. Residents are mostly farmers
while others engage in one trade or the other. The youth among them are
artisans.
The
serenity was, however, broken towards the end of 2013 when two blood
brothers, Kunmi and Adeniyi Adetokun, died, one after the other, within
three days, allegedly of a local charm used to punish adulterous men,
commonly referred to as magun in Yoruba.
This
literally translates ‘don’t climb’ in English. But the two brothers
climbed the metaphorical mountains that were too high for them. And they
somersaulted down the hills, breaking their necks in the process. The
occurrence, however, sparked off anger among the youth of the community,
resulting in them setting ablaze the residence of the Balogun of the
community, Chief Segun Oyetade, the deceased’s uncle, as he was
suspected to have been responsible for the duo’s death. They also
attacked him with weapons but was only saved when the youth got a hint
that policemen were approaching.
The scene
opened on Monday, December 2, 2013 when Kunmi reportedly died after
having sex with a woman allegedly laced with magun and who was said to
be his aunt-in-law. The woman was said to be his uncle’s wife.
READ MORE AFTER THE CUT,,
On
December 5, three days after Kunmi’s death, his younger brother,
Adeniyi, was also reported to have died of unknown ailment which he
battled with for a couple of weeks after allegedly sleeping with the
wife of Chief Oyetade’s brother, whose name was given simply as Femi.
According
to the information gathered by Saturday Tribune, Niyi was the one who
fell ill first after he slumped and started vomitting blood. His
brother, Kunmi, was reportedly taking care of him at a hospital at
Lalupon community.
It was
further learnt that Kunmi left Niyi at Lalupon and went to Jagun
community where he allegedly had sex with his uncle’s wife. His own
illness did not take much time before it consumed him and he died three
days after it manifested. Having noticed this, Niyi reportedly opened up
that he slept with Femi’s wife, which confirmed the suspicion of the
villagers that he must have been hit with the deadly charm.
A member
of the community described the type of magun used on Niyi as Olorere
which usually takes days or weeks before killing the man who sleeps with
the woman laced with such.
After
Kunmi’s death, Chief Oyetade was reportedly summoned by the Baale of
Jagun community, Chief Isiaka Akinpelu, who asked him about the
allegation that he laced his wife with magun. The man denied and the
Baale appealed to him to find the antidote so that Niyi could be healed.
The
Balogun reportedly came back to the village head to demand for N4,000
which he said was the fee demanded by the herbalist who volunteered to
prepare the antidote. Members of the community were said to have
contributed the money but before he brought it, Niyi gave up the ghost.
Niyi’s
death after his brother’s spurred the community’s anger as Chief Oyetade
was also accused of sleeping with the mother of the two brothers, which
prompted the question on why he should be angry that someone was having
an affair with his wife or his brother’s wife, to the extent that he
could aim at killing the brothers.
The anger
led to the attack on him while his house was set on fire and his wife
and children sent out of the community in the dead of the night.
Chief
Isiaka Akinpelu, who was said to have got a hint of the youth’s plan to
attack Chief Oyetade, had reportedly gone to Iyana Ofa Police Division
to quickly give the information to the police but before they got back
to the village, the youth had struck. As they saw the approaching
policemen, they were said to have fled in different directions, leaving
the injured chief to his fate.
However,
Chief Oyetade, during an interview with Saturday Tribune on hospital bed
where he was receiving treatment, alleged that it was the Baale who
sent the youth to attack him because of a tussle between them over a
piece of land.
He denied the allegation that he laced the women with magun, saying that his accusers were only trying to tarnish his image.
“What I
only heard was that Niyi was sick, but I didn’t know the kind of ailment
because he was living at Lalupon. Later the Baale called me and some
elders, saying that my nephew, Femi, laced his wife with magun, which
resulted in Niyi’s illness. I didn’t believe the allegation because Niyi
had been ill for some weeks and from the story we used to hear about
magun, it doesn’t take so long before being felt.
“They went
further to say that I was the one who gave Femi the magun which he
laced his wife
with, accusing me of doing same for my wife, which led to
Kunmi’s death. I exclaimed in shock, disclosing that my wife was
pregnant and wondering how one would lace a pregnant woman with a charm
such as magun.
“It was
after this that Chief Akinpelu said he was after the wellness of Niyi,
tasking me and the head of Niyi’s family, one Mr Adewale Adekambi, to go
and look for the antidote. By then, Niyi was being cared for in Ibadan
and it was Ibadan we went to seek the antidote. Unfortunately, Niyi died
on Thursday, December 5.
I joined
Niyi’s sibling, Seun and his aunt in taking the corpse away from where
he died. As we wanted to take him to the cemetery, his brother said we
should take him home, unknown to me that it was a trap set for me. As
soon as I disembarked from the vehicle, hoodlums descended on me with
sticks, pestle and cutlasses. I kept asking them of my offence and when
they saw that I did not collapse, one of them struck me with an axe on
the head and I fell down.
“A
sympathiser called the Baale to inform him of what happened to me but
before he came, I was already crawling away. A community member saw me
and jeered at me, saying: ‘Where are you going? Your house and property
are still going for it.’
He said
the disagreement between him and Chief Akinpelu occurred when he sold
his own father’s parcel of land and the Baale challenged him by saying
that he did not inform him. “He has no business with the land. My
brother and I agreed before the land was sold and it belonged to our
father,” Chief Oyetade said.
Saturday
Tribune gathered that the police detectives, led by the Divisional
Police Officer, Iyana Ofa, Mrs Justina Ogunleye, took the victim to a
nearby hospital for medical treatment.
Chief
Oyetade’s wife, Rachael, also narrated her ordeal thus: “I was invited
by the Baale and he asked me about Kunmi’s death. I told him that I did
not know anything about it. I also swore in the presence of the elders
seated, asking if anyone of them had ever seen my nakedness. It was when
I was raining curses that the Baale asked me to go.
“On
Thursday, December 5, my husband travelled to Ibadan and told me he was
not coming back. At about 11:00p.m., I heard a knock on my door and when
I opened, I saw four men who asked me to leave with my children without
picking a pin, threatening that if I delayed, they would burn us with
the house.
“I slept
in the bush with my children, among who was a two-year-old, and at dawn,
we trekked to a town near Ibadan, from where we took a bike to
Iyana-Ofa. From there, I boarded a bus to Ibadan. I tried to contact my
husband but could not get him. It was later I learnt that he had been
attacked.”
When
contacted, the police spokesperson in Oyo State, DSP Olabisi
Okuwobi-Ilobanafor, confirmed the development, disclosing that two of
the suspected arsonists and attackers had been arrested. She added that
the Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Indabawa, had ordered that the case
be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID),
Iyaganku, Ibadan, for further investigation.
Source: Tribune
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