No fewer than 20 persons were rescued from a ritualist shrine at Agungun area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

According to the state’s Police Command, the owner and operator of the shrine, Alfa Oloore, as he is fondly called, has been arrested and detained for questioning.

The inmates, many of which were skinny and malnourished, are also in the custody of the police.

According to some of the residents who spoke with our correspondent, Alfa Oloore, who claimed to be a spiritualist and a healer has been operating the shrine for many years with suspicion and dread.

They described the shrine as a den of ritualists and kidnappers, where unsuspecting victims were kept for ritual purposes.

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Gbenga Fadeyi confirmed the arrest of the operator of the shrine and evacuation of the inmates by the police.

Fadeyi, a Superintendent of Police (SP) stated that the truth about whether the shrine is a den for ritualists and kidnappers was yet to be determined until the police conclude investigation into the matter.

He said,

“I can confirm that there was arrest of the owner of the shrine where many inmates were recovered. But, some people came later to the police station to say they were the ones who gave their children to the owner of the shrine, who they also claimed to be a spiritualist.

” In fact, some of those recovered from the shrine had issues, some behave like drug addicts, some like mentally challenged and so on. But what the police want to do is to embark on thorough investigation into the matter and come up with a report. “