By Evelyn Usman

One of the prayers rendered to the newly wed is for them to  be blessed with children.  But  some end up  spending  years before having  children to call their own. The years of waiting can be so traumatizing and is  usually characterized by anxiety.

The hole the victims were buried in

This was the case of the late Mrs  Angela Kerry, the 68-year-old retired Assistant Controller of Customs who was buried alive with her ten year-old adopted daughter by a herbalist in Ajuwon area of Ogun State.

The deceased, described by a member of her family as an amiable fellow, was married for over 30 years . She reportedly went into marriage with the hope of raising children of her’s  but never lived to see her dream come true.

Her relative, who spoke with Sunday Vanguard, stated that the deceased was, on several occasions, advised to adopt a child ,while hoping to have one of her own but refused. She was said to have, however, yielded about seven years ago , by adopting a girl-child-whom she named Obralulum.

Except for close relatives, every other person concluded the child was her’s, judging from their striking resemblance. The late Kerry was said to have dated on her ‘child’ whom she fondly called ‘Angel’.  She was said to have gone everywhere with the child, no wonder they suffered same fate even in death.

All seemed to be going well for the deceased until  she came across her assailant, a herbalist. No one could tell exactly when their paths crossed but the herbalist,  Alhaji Olatunji Azeez, claimed he knew her  five years ago, through  one of his clients  whom he identified simply as Lizzy.

Azzez further stated that the deceased was never in good terms with members of her family. “ She said they were after her because of her wealth. She said they wanted to kill her  and that she intended staying away from them.

I have saved her twice from  deadly spiritual attacks  since she was introduced to me by one of my clients who is also her friend”, the herbalist, accused of killing the retired Customs’ bigwig and her adopted child by burying them alive, said.

But one of the lie relatives of the deceased  who spoke on the condition of anonymity, described  Azeez’s  claim as false.  She could, however, not give Sunday Vanguard vital details on the deceased, saying: “ everyone  is aggrieved. No one can talk at the moment because this is unheard of. It is not in my place to speak with journalists, or I will be sanctioned. The only thing I can say is that   she was a good person.

“For her killer to say that she was running away from her family was a big lie. This is because she confided in a family member that she was going out on May 10, 2014, the day she disappeared and obviously killed alongside her adopted daughter.  It was  a relative that raised the alarm when her phone was not going.

She called to find out if she was back and when she could not reach her, she decided to check on her at her Oko-Oba  home, only to discover that her house was under lock and key. It was at that point that we called in the police”.

Information at Sunday Vanguard’s  disposal revealed that the suspect told  his three wives and five children to leave the house on the day he was to perpetrate the dastardly act.

It was also discovered that the shallow grave he dug behind his building was constructed within that period. Police sources told  Sunday Vanguard that  after digging the shallow  grave, he erected a make shift building to cover it  apparently to avoid prying eyes.

On that fateful day, Mrs Kerry was said to have gone to demand for  her money which she alleged the herbalist collected from her , to aid her in getting pregnant after 30-years marriage, only to be  buried alive in the grave alongside her adopted child.

Narrating how   mother and child were killed, 64 year-old Azeez said:  “Three years ago, she  revealed that she had not been able to give birth and had not been pregnant for one day. I told her it would be impossible since she had reached menopause but she objected, saying many prophets had told her God could do it.

“Along the line, she said she wanted to sell her property at Omole Estate, that she wanted to travel abroad in order  to be away from her family.  After selling the property, I discovered so many pastors started coming around her to get a share from the money realised. In fact she told me that she  paid N15 million to some pastors  to pray for her to get a child.

“Then I told myself that if I did not act fast, the pastors  will collect everything from her.  So, I called her and told her  to bring N10 million with which  to prepare some concoction that would make her pregnant, even though I knew it was impossible for her to get pregnant.

The frontage of the herbalist’s shrine

Trouble
“She paid in bits about  N9 million. But after nine months, she came back saying nothing happened and demanded a refund. That was when trouble started. I managed to pay her N 3.5 million and begged her to be patient for the balance.

“ On May 16, 2014,  she charged into my temple  demanding  the balance. I told her I won’t pay her and that if she had gone to the hospital and the treatment failed, could she demand a refund? She threatened to deal with me if I did not pay her, saying she would show me she was in the force.

“I told myself that this is war because I remembered she once showed me a gun at her apartment. I knew it was not a mere threat because she said she would kill me and nothing would happen. That threat provoked me. I knew that when two people are fighting, the first to attack will emerge winner.

“So, I decided to act fast. I  told  to come back the next day for the money. When leaving, I told her not to come with the daughter. When she left, I told my wives and children to leave for my home town in Oyo the next day being Saturday that I would come and join them. I did not explain why.

“After they left, I  went to a building at the back of my shrine where I dug a hole. I spread a mat on the hole and laid a white cloth on it, exactly the way it looks in my shrine. When she came I told her to go inside the building that we needed to pray before we talk about the money. She asked if the prayer was for the pregnancy and I told her it was for fortification”.

When Sunday Vanguard asked him how possible was it for a woman who had come for her money to agree to go into prayer it him, he disclosed that he hypnotized her.

Azeez  said :”I know what to do to get people to do my bidding.  As she was about entering, I told her to tell her daughter to stay behind but she refused. On getting inside the building, I asked her to stand on the white cloth and immediately she did, she fell inside the hole and landed on her buttocks. All I heard when she fell was ‘yeh’! When she fell, I told myself that I had seen the end of my enemy.

“The daughter did not say a word. She just stood watching. I had to cover the hole with about 60 buckets of sand.
“Later, I asked myself what I would do with  the little girl. I left the room, locked it from outside. When I came back at about 6.30pm, I met her on the sand. She had fallen asleep.  I quickly removed my jacket and poured about 30 buckets of sand to cover her. Next day, i went  to get two bricklayers to cement the place.”

There is, however, the  claim that the herbalist earlier  collected documents of three properties belonging to the deceased , saying he wanted to pray on them, only to sell them for N375m. His action was said to have led to the killing of Mrs Kerry and her adopted child.

The  suspect confirmed that he bought one of the properties  and even changed the documents to reflects his name. “ Yes, one of the properties  has my name on  it. It was her idea. She said she did not want her family to know”, Azzez said.

Unfortunately, the only person that would have ascertained the claim is lying six feet below .

Explaining how the suspect was arrested, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Umar Manko, said  after committing the crime, the suspect took the deceased’s Toyota Camry vehicle to a dealer’s workshop to sell.

But the bubble burst when the victim’s relatives reported at New Oko-Oba Police Station that Mrs Kerry was missing.  Policemen, he said, traced the victim’s car to the  dealer’s workshop where two persons were arrested, adding that their statements led to the suspect’s arrest.

“We have been able to recover the decomposed bodies and the victim’s travelling bag containing her personal effects and that of her daughter from the shallow grave he buried them in,” Manko said.