The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a trainee herbalist, Ifagbenga Taiwo, for allegedly killing his 41-day-old son in the Keesi area of Adatan, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Taiwo claimed he was under the influence of a spell when he committed the act.
The tragic incident occurred last Monday when the baby’s mother, Raimat Wasilat, left him on a bed while washing clothes outside their home.
Upon returning to the room, she discovered her son’s throat had been slit. She raised the alarm, which drew the attention of neighbours and the police.
In a video obtained by Punch on Sunday, Taiwo confessed to using a knife to kill his son but maintained that he was not in control of his actions at the time.
He narrated that on the day of the incident, he had given his wife money to feed before heading out to his apprenticeship.
Realizing he had forgotten some protective charms at home, he returned to retrieve them.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident, adding that the wife had accused Taiwo of being responsible for their son’s death, prompting his arrest.
Taiwo narrated in Yoruba (now translated), “I didn’t go home on Sunday due to engagements at work. I went home on Monday, and when I got home, I took my bath, gave my wife a feeding allowance, and left the house.
“It was when I got to work that I realised I had left the charms I used for self-protection at home. So, I went home to pick them up. After I picked them up, I returned to work.
“About an hour after I had returned to work, I just felt a breeze blow at me, and I began to feel uneasy. It was like something was circulating in my body, and I felt like committing a crime.”
He noted that upon returning home, he did not meet his wife outside at the spot where she was washing clothes, and he went inside, picked a knife, and slit the throat of his 41-day-old son.
“When I got home, I did not meet my wife at the spot where she was washing clothes. I went inside, and I continued feeling that I should commit a crime.
“I went into my mum’s room and picked a knife we had purchased in the Kuto market some time ago. I took the knife and went to where my son was laid, and that was what I remembered last before I came back to consciousness.
“When I realised that my son had been killed, I was wondering what had happened, and I was surprised. I had to flee through the back door of our house,” Taiwo said in the video.
When asked if he had allegedly killed his son in an attempt to divorce his wife, Taiwo replied, “I love my wife, and I did not plan to divorce her. I don’t know how it happened. I have done it before I realised what I did.
“I fled after doing it because I didn’t know what to do. I am sorry about what I did.”
He appealed to the government to show him mercy.
