A 39-year-old pregnant woman identified as Mrs. Esther Enemo, has been found murdered and dismembered in Ilọrin, the Kwara State capital.
The incident which occurred at Temidire Zone 4, Egbejila, Ilorin, has thrown the community into panic.
The victim, said to be the wife of a trader in agricultural chemicals based in a border town in the northern part of the state, was discovered in the bush behind her residence with parts of her body missing.
Other remains were later recovered inside a sack dumped beneath a nearby bridge.
Her head was still missing as at press time.
Eyewitnesses alleged that a suspect, 29-year-old Sylvester Enemo, a younger brother of the victim’s husband, was seen leaving the house at dawn on Thursday carrying a black nylon bag dripping with blood.
A trail from the bag reportedly led to the scene where the mutilated body was uncovered.
Residents said the woman had been alone at home the previous night and was last seen buying bottles of beer and plates of pepper soup before returning indoors.
Some said her actions suggested she was expecting someone.
A neighbour told Daily Trust on Saturday that the couple got to the area recently.
Her killing immediately sparked fears of ritual motives and heightened ethnic suspicions within the multi-tribal community.
Confirming the incident on Saturday, spokesperson of the Kwara State Police Command, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the suspect after responding to a report of foul play.
“The dismembered body of Mrs. Esther Enemo was discovered in the bush behind her residence. Further search led to the recovery of other parts of her body concealed in a sack and dumped beneath a nearby bridge.
A suspect, one Mr. Sylvester Enemo, younger brother to the victim’s husband, has been arrested in connection with the crime,” the statement said.
She added that the Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, has ordered a full-scale investigation and assured that justice would be served.
Adetoun said the remains of the deceased had been deposited at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) morgue for autopsy.
The command urged the residents to remain calm and avoid speculative comments capable of inciting tension, assuring that security measures had been reinforced across the state
