A man identified as Emmanuel Ovwarueso has been arrested by operatives of the Edo State Security Network for allegedly beheading his daughter for money ritual in Benin City, Edo State.
The suspect was arrested in Uteh, Upper Mission, where he resides last Thursday at about midnight with the head of the deceased in a polythene bag.
He was said to have tied and gagged his wife and carried out the killing in her presence.
His wife, whose name was not available at the time of press, said, “My husband’s attitude changed recently. He kept saying I should not look at him like a poor man anymore.
“At his place of work, he was buying drinks for everyone as if he was celebrating. Even his co-workers were surprised at his new spending style. He even told them that his money was very near. We never knew he had plans to use our daughter for a ritual.”
A member of the ESSN, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “We saw him that Thursday night with a bag, walking so fast like he was rushing to catch a flight. We stopped him, but he resisted. We asked what was inside the bag, he said it was his food. So, we searched the bag and found a human head inside it.
“We interrogated him and from the way he was talking, it was obvious he was hiding something. So, we took him to his house, and we met his wife tied down. We untied her and asked who tied her, she said it was her husband. She told us that her husband tied her down with a rope before killing their daughter.
“The suspect then took us to the place where he buried the little girl’s body in a shallow grave and the body of the girl was exhumed immediately.”
The suspect has since been handed over to the Nigeria Police, Edo State Command for further investigation.