Scotland Yard detectives hunting the killers of a young African boy whose headless and dismembered body was found floating in the River Thames in London were due to arrive in Nigeria on Thursday.
British forensic experts believe the boy arrived in London from Africa in September 2001, just days before he was killed in what appears to have been a voodoo-style ritual, British embassy officials here said.
Without a head or limbs the boy could not be identified — detectives dubbed him ”Adam” during their investigation — but scientific tests have led officers to believe he came from the southwestern region of Nigeria.
Commander Andy Baker and Detective Chief Inspector Will O’Reilly of London’s Metropolitan Police are to spend three weeks in Nigeria seeking clues to the boy’s origin, a British High Commission (embassy) statement said.
”They hope to use the Nigerian media, high profile Nigerians, the establishment of a reward fund and village-to-village visits to persuade those who may have information on Adam’s identity to come forward,” it said.
”This is one of the most important cases being handled by the Metropolitan Police Force,” it added, stressing that the British police had received good cooperation and assistance from their Nigerian counterparts.
British police visited Nigeria last November to collect soil and plant samples from around the country. Forensic tests pointed to Adam being from a 155-kilometre long strip of land between the cities of Ibadan and Benin, just north of Lagos, a densely populated belt of forest, bush and farmland.
Though they are now mainly Christian, many of the people of southwestern Nigeria and along the Atlantic coast in neighbouring Benin retain a traditional belief in African witchcraft — known locally as ”juju”.
Some juju rituals involve the use of human body parts and every year there are several cases of murder or kidnappings thought to be linked to the beliefs. Headless corpses can sometimes be seen by the roads leading from Ibadan. Adam’s apparent murder caused a sensation in Britain. It has been the subject of a television documentary, two televised appeals for witnesses and acres of newsprint.
Before narrowing their search for evidence down to Nigeria, detectives visited South Africa to learn more generally about African ritual magic. Former South African president Nelson Mandela added his voice to appeals for information. British officials said the detectives were to arrive in Nigerian capital Abuja early on Thursday, where they were to meet their Nigerian colleagues and brief the news media. – Sapa-AFP