A man, identified as Augustine Daniel, was found dead in his house at the Igbalaye area of Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Sunday morning while allegedly performing rituals.
According to an eyewitness, some items were found beside the lifeless body of the deceased, including one bottle of Seaman Schnapps, one bottle of Jik, a knife and two dead fowls. This raised suspicion that he was performing ritual when he slumped and died.
The eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that the deceased, who was said to be an auxiliary nurse in an undisclosed hospital, locked himself inside his sitting room to perform the purported ritual that allegedly led to his death.
Another source alleged that the 36-year-old nurse had “turned” the house to a mini hospital, adding that whenever the neighbours confronted him on his illegal activities, the deceased would allegedly threaten them with charms.
It was learnt that on Sunday, at about 11am, the pregnant wife of the deceased, Folake, raised the alarm when she came from church and found out that her husband had locked himself inside the room and did not open after several knocks on the door.
According to a source, the neighbours forced the door opened and met the deceased on the chair naked, without any sign of life.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Wole Ogodo, said the matter had been transferred to the state Criminal Investigation Department for proper investigation.
Ogodo said it was the wife that came to the station to report the incident on Sunday after she discovered that the sitting room was locked and the husband was inside.
The PPRO added, “Folake Augustine came to the station to report that she left for church leaving her husband, named Augustin Godwin, 36 years at home. When she returned at about 3.30pm, she discovered that the sitting room was locked. When the door was forcefully unlocked, he (husband) was found dead on the chair, naked.”