A trainee herbalist, Ifagbenga Taiwo, who was arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly slaughtering his 41-day-old son, has disclosed that he carried out the act under a spell.
According to Taiwo, in an interrogation video, he narrated how he used a knife to slit the throat of the infant. He, however, blamed his action on the influence of a spell, stressing that he was not conscious of what he did until he had perpetrated the act.
Taiwo said, “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.”
He continued, “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.”
Taiwo further narrated, “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.
Taiwo said, “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.”
He added, “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.”
Taiwo said, “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.”
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.”
He said, “I fled after doing it because I didn’t know what to do. I am sorry about what I did.”
Taiwo appealed to the government to show him mercy.
