In Ogun, a father allegedly chains and starves children to death.

Gbenga Ogunfadeke, 45, was detained in Ogun State for allegedly chaining and imprisoning his two children, which resulted in their deaths.

According to Channels Television, men from the State Security Network, Amotekun, detained Ibiade on Tuesday in the state’s Waterside Local Government Area (LGA).

In a statement provided to journalists in Abeokuta, the state capital, David Akinremi, state commander of the Amotekun security unit, verified this.

It was learned that the suspect, a father of three, had accused his children of stealing, chained them, and kept them in solitary confinement for more than three months without food or water, which is said to have resulted in two of the kids’ deaths.

Additionally, he was charged with abusing the kids, whose ages vary from 16 to 18, after he obtained custody of them when his marriage to their mother, Busola Otusegun, fell apart.

According to reports, the suspect’s ex-wife filed a complaint that led to his detention.

The two older children died between April and June 2022 in Ijebu-Ode, where they were all living with the suspect until he moved back to Ibiade. “One of the three children came across his aunty in Ibiade, where he currently lives with his father (suspect), and narrated their experience with their father,” the Amotekun commandant said.

One of the victims described how his father shackled them and kept them in solitary confinement for more than three months without food or water, resulting in the deaths of the two siblings. He also said that he was the only one who “miraculously” survived the ordeal.

According to Akinremi, the suspect admitted to holding the kids for months during questioning but denied depriving them of food or being in charge of their deaths.

The suspect claimed that his behavior was motivated by the kids’ involvement in theft, which is why it is important to take steps to keep them from engaging in such illegal behavior.

Additionally, the suspect allegedly stated that the two deceased kids were admitted to the hospital for treatment at various points after becoming ill, but tragically perished throughout the procedure.

What is odd about his defense, though, is that neither the hospital where he claimed the two kids died in Ijebu Ode nor the spot where he allegedly buried them behind a rented apartment where he lived in Ijebu-Ode before moving to his current residence in Ibiade with the third kid could be found for a potential exhumation.

Akinremi continued, “The fact that he refused to tell any family members about the incidents also gives cause for concern, especially given that the suspect is a herbalist, furthering the suspicion that he killed the deceased for possible rituals.”

According to reports, the case has been given to the State Criminal inquiry Department for additional inquiry with the goal of establishing new facts that will make it easier for the suspect to be prosecuted.