Ilorin, Kwara State, was thrown into shock and mourning on Thursday, August 21, 2025, after a pregnant woman was gruesomely murdered and dismembered by suspected ritualists in Temidire, a quiet rural community in Egbejila.
The victim, whose identity is yet to be officially confirmed, was found mutilated in a manner that strongly suggests ritualistic killing. Her remains — including severed limbs and internal organs — were later discovered dumped in nearby bushes, while her head remains missing.
Eyewitnesses recounted that the young woman, whose husband is a trader in agricultural chemicals and equipment in a border town in Kwara North, was at home alone on Wednesday evening. She was reportedly seen earlier purchasing bottles of beer and plates of pepper soup, allegedly in preparation for a visitor.
By dawn, suspicions grew when a man — believed to be her husband’s younger brother — was seen leaving the house with a black nylon bag. Community members raised an alarm after noticing a liquid trail behind him, which upon closer inspection turned out to be blood.
“Not long after, her dismembered remains were discovered scattered in the bush. Her arm, leg, and entrails were recovered, but her head was missing,” a terrified resident told reporters.
The gruesome killing has heightened fear across the Egbejila axis, with residents likening it to the chilling murder of Yetunde Lawal, a final-year student of Kwara State College of Education, who was killed by a self-acclaimed cleric, Abdulrahaman Bello, in Ilorin earlier this year for ritual purposes.
The latest killing has also deepened ethnic suspicions and tensions within the community, as residents whisper about dark networks of ritualists operating with impunity.
Police authorities confirmed that the matter has been transferred from the Budo Nuhu Divisional Headquarters along Airport Road to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Ilorin.
However, efforts by journalists to obtain an official reaction from the Kwara State Police Command proved unsuccessful, as the Public Relations Officer, Ejire Adeyemi-Toun, did not respond to calls at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, human rights groups and concerned citizens have called for swift justice, urging security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators and end the cycle of ritual killings in Kwara State.
PIONEER NEWS 