Police recover three headless bodies from Ondo river

The Ondo police command has recovered three headless corpses from a river in the Odigbo LGA. 

Locals reportedly stumbled on the decomposing bodies on Wednesday — with some lodged on the riverbanks.

Eyewitnesses said the victims may have been murdered and dumped in the river by suspected kidnappers.

A former youth leader in the community, who identified himself as Shileola, said he was shocked by the incident.

“I was shocked when I first heard about it over the phone. I rushed to the scene, hoping to identify the victims through their clothing or any other means, but all efforts proved abortive,” he said.

He speculated that the victims may have been killed elsewhere and their bodies dumped in the river, noting that there have been no reports of missing persons in the area.

Shileola urged residents to be security conscious.

Ayanlade Olayinka, spokesperson of the Ondo police command, confirmed the development.

“I can confirm to you that some three bodies were recovered at the river in Odigbo. And immediately it was reported at the Ore Division, the DPO of that division moved a detective to the scene where the three bodies were recovered,” Olayinka said.

“Upon recovering the bodies, they were taken to the morgue at General Hospital and the DPO summoned the community leaders and all interest groups to ensure the identification of the body.

“But, we have not seen anybody to identify any of the bodies and it is believed that those bodies were brought there and dumped at that site by some unknown men. So we believe that it did not actually happen in Ondo state.

“The area it happened bordered a lot of states, both Ogun and Edo states. So we believe the body is not from this state. However, it was dumped in that river.”

Olayinka said further details would be provided as investigations continue.