Ganiyu Shina, 49, was arrested yesterday by Ogun State Police Command for bathing in blood in a community river in the Kotopo area of Odeda Local Council.
The suspect, of No. 4, Oguji Street, Obantoko Abeokuta, was apprehended by members of the community after they spotted him at the River Bank, where he parked his Nissan commercial vehicle, came out with a local sponge and a container filled with blood, and began bathing with it.
When he realized people were watching him, he bolted, but was pursued and apprehended by members of the community, according to the police.
"A member of the community called the police at Aregbe divisional headquarters, and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Superintendent Of Police (DPO), Bunmi Asogbon, quickly led the patrol team to the scene, from where the suspect was brought to the station.
“On interrogation, the suspect claimed to have a spiritual problem, and that a herbalist instructed him to perform the ritual. He claimed further that the blood in his possession is not human blood, but that of a cow,” the police said.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Lanre Bankole, has directed that the remaining blood should be taken for laboratory analysis, to ascertain whether it is human or not.
The CP also praised members of the community for not taking laws into their hands, assuring them that the suspect will be properly investigated.