The police have rescued a couple that were put on death row by their abductors in a shrine in Ikorodu, Lagos State, the rescuers said.
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They also destroyed six shrines and arrested James Adedeji, owner of one of them in whose premises the couple were rescued on Tuesday night.
Acting Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal, who took reporters round the demolished shrines on Wednesday, said the police had the backing of all the traditional rulers in the area to pull the shrine down.
Edgal explained that the raid on the shrines followed discovery by the police that most times people who had gone missing or fallen victim to ‘one-chance’ buses usually ended up at shrines in that axis, where some are murdered or fleeced.
“We had the backing of all the traditional rulers in Ikorodu to demolish individually owned shrines that are used to perpetrate crime. Some of those shrines are used for ritual purposes. Others were established by fraudsters with the intent to commit crime.
“So, these six we have demolished were identified as a result of the police and community partnership. We received information from members of the community and we carried out our own findings too.
“I can tell you that as of Tuesday night, when we were still surveying the places, a husband and wife were rescued in one of the shrines. They fell victim and they had been told they would be killed. They were very grateful when the police came to their aid,” Edgal said.
