The Nasarawa State Police Command has arrested a gospel singer, Timilehin Ajayi, for allegedly killing and dismembering his 24-year-old girlfriend, Salome Enejo, a member of the National Youth Service Corps, for suspected ritual purposes.

The command’s spokesperson, Ramhan Nansel, told reporters in an exclusive interview that Enejo was a corps member serving in Abuja before she was brutally murdered by the suspect.

The suspect, Ajayi, was apprehended by churchgoers on Sunday in Orozo, a community bordering the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and Nasarawa State after he was found carrying a polybag containing the severed head of Enejo.

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In an interview with reporters on Monday, the church’s Bible Study Teacher and General Secretary, Caleb Umaru, explained that a member had noticed Ajayi acting suspiciously near a river.

He claimed that the said member alerted others when Ajayi threw a bag into the river, which was later retrieved and found to contain his girlfriend’s severed head.

Umaru said, “It was just before the end of the service, around 11 a.m., during the final pledge and prayers. A church member, Brother Victor, opened his eyes during the prayers and noticed someone walking suspiciously by the river near the church, carrying a bag. His movements caught Victor’s attention, prompting him to call over Brother Amos to take notice as well.

“When he saw them, he threw a black nylon bag into the river, and when they enquired from him what he threw into the river, he said nothing. After many questions that he didn’t answer, they left him and went back but didn’t go into the church.”

Umaru disclosed that the suspect attempted to flee the scene after he was repeatedly asked to open the bag before he was chased down and apprehended in a farm area and before he was handed over to the police, who arrived at the scene just in time.

Reporters learnt from Umaru that a motorcyclist who had transported Ajayi with the sack enlisted help to confront him. According to Umaru, the four men approached Ajayi and ordered him to retrieve the bag he had thrown into the river.

Meanwhile, during a telephone interview with reporters, Nansel said the suspect was rescued from being mobbed by the vengeful crowd who caught him with the severed head.

He added that further investigation uncovered the rest of the mutilated body inside the suspect’s apartment.

“The suspect was found with a fresh human head, and when we got to the scene, we rescued him from being mobbed by the ones who accosted him.

“During the investigation at his place of residence, we found two sacks filled with the victim’s dismembered body. The victim has been identified as 24-year-old Salome Enejo; her parents have been contacted and have identified her. She is a National Youth Service Corps member, serving in Abuja.

“The suspect is currently receiving medical treatment at a hospital; he was injured when we rescued him. A thorough investigation has commenced,” Nansel added.

Newsmen reported a similar incident on October 11, 2023, when the Lagos State Police Command declared Benjamin Nnanyereugo, popularly known as KillaBoi, wanted in connection with the murder of his girlfriend, Augusta Osedion.

Nnanyereugo was suspected of murdering the 21-year-old Osedion, on July 13, 2023, at his home in Oral Estate, located in the Ajah area of Lagos State.