The body of 35-year-old missing mother of two, Mercy Henry, has been found mutilated and buried in different sacks behind a building belonging to the prime suspect, Mayowa Timothy Bamidele.
The Guardian had last week Monday, January 17, 2022 reported that Mercy had told her family she was going to Ijegun, a suburb in Lagos State on December 16, 2021 and had since not been seen.
According to her 70-year-old father, Pa Henry Ekienabor, who raised the alarm, the family was apprehensive, as the whereabouts of Mercy remained unknown. He expressed the feeling that his daughter was being held captive somewhere.
Also, Bamidele had vehemently denied seeing Mercy. In fact, he maintained that he last saw her four years ago.
Distressed over the death of his daughter, Ekienabor, said: “It’s rather unfortunate that my daughter was killed, mutilated and buried at the back of Mayowa’s house.
“Police called my son on January 14, 2022, to tell us the development. I was hoping and praying that maybe they had located where her captors kept her. The Police told us that she was murdered in cold blood, mutilated and then buried. After mutilating her corpse, she was then packed into five sacks and buried at the back of Bamidele’s house.
“The Police had arrested four persons alongside Bamidele. During interrogation, the detectives appealed to the four suspects that anyone who gives them useful information wouldn’t be punished. One of the four men raised his hand and then volunteered information to the police. Police went there, searched the house and zeroed in on the spot where Mercy was buried.”
Police recovered her handbag, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card and her phone. These items were hidden in one of the uncompleted houses.
Pa Ekienabor said her daughter was probably killed for money ritual. “She was killed three minutes after her friend, Ayo, transferred N30, 000 into Bamidele’s bank account. The money was paid into her account by 1:59p.m. and at 2:02p.m., Mercy’s phone number stopped going.
Speaking with The Guardian, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Adekunle Ajisebutu, who confirmed the incident and arrest of Bamidele, said: “The suspect is in our custody and he will be paraded tomorrow (today) along side other suspects, and he will be charged to court.”
