The 26-year-old pastor, Erinmole Adetokumbo and his accomplice, Adedoyin Oyekanmi, who were arrested for allegedly beheading a 7-year-old boy, Kazeem Rabiu in Lagos State have been remanded.

A Lagos State Magistrate’s Court sitting at Ebute-Meta ordered the remand of the two men yesterday.

Adetokunbo and his accomplice had lured the boy from his parents’ house on Sotunyo Street to the church’s premises on Oke-Oniburokun Street, Odokekere, Ikorodu where they killed him.

They were said to have beheaded him and buried the head around the church’s altar, while the body was kept in a canal.

Adetokunbo was later apprehended by residents. He was said to have confessed to the crime, naming Oyekanmi as his accomplice.

The duo led a team of policemen to the church, where the victim’s remains were recovered.

A mob was said to have destroyed the church and asked the police to release the suspects to them for jungle justice.

The suspects were later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba.

At the end of investigation, the police arraigned the suspects yesterday on three counts of murder.

The charges read in part, “That you, Adedoyin Oyekanmi and Erinmole Adetokunbo, on June 7, 2017, at about 2pm on Oke-Oniburokun Street, Odokekere, Ikorodu, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to commit felony, to wit: murder, thereby committing an offence.

“That you, on the same date, time and place, in the aforementioned magisterial district, did kill one Kazeem Rabiu, aged seven, by cutting off his head with a cutlass, thereby committing an offence.

“That you, without lawful justification or excuse, dismembered the remains of one Kazeem Rafiu, aged seven.”

The police prosecutor, Sergeant Maria Dauda, explained that the offences were punishable under sections 233, 223 and 165 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011. The defendants’ pleas were not taken, just as they were not represented by any counsel.

Dauda filed an application for their remand in prison, citing Section 264 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.

The judge, Mrs. O.A. Fowowe-Erusiafe, ordered that the two suspects be remanded in custody pending the release of legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

The matter was adjourned till July 24, 2017.