Alleged Occultists Gangrape, Murder Woman, 50, Sever Her Eyes, Genitals For Ritual Purposes

A 50-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by occultists before they proceeded to kill her with a machete and sever her eyes and genitals for ritual purposes in Nigeria.

The victim, identified as Patience Komore, fondly called Pat by her friends, was allegedly stabbed with a machete before she was brutally gang-raped and robbed of some 40,000 Nigerian naira (US$97). The assailants and suspected ritualists reportedly proceeded to gouge her eyes and sever genitals for ceremonial purposes. The horrifying crime reportedly happened at the Umeh community of the Isoko South Local Government Area (LGA), Delta State, Nigeria.

The woman's decomposing remains would later be recovered from a wooded lot in the community on Tuesday, Aug. 3, according to Vanguard.

State Commissioner of Police Ari Mohammed Ali has confirmed the details of the gruesome killing, saying that one suspect has already been arrested in connection with the sickening murder.

The woman was first reported missing by her family on July 27, after she left for Umeh market in Isoko south LGA to buy fish. The victim regularly goes to Umeh to buy pepper and sundry vegetables for sale, Premium Times reported.

After an official missing person's report was filed by the family on Aug. 2, Ali directed the Divisional Police Office (DPO) to look into the woman's sudden disappearance.

“The DPO Mobilized police operatives, vigilante, and community leaders who continuously worked together and gathered information regarding the case," Ali said.

On Aug. 3, authorities arrested a 25-year-old Okada rider named Onoriode Simon Akpoavirhi in connection with the murder. The Okada rider was reportedly the same person who ferried the woman on the day she disappeared.

When he was interrogated by the detectives, he reportedly confessed to killing the woman with the help of another suspect named Akpoghene Shoemaker. He also admitted to raping the victim and robbing her before bludgeoning her to death with a machete. An agreement with an alleged occultist, a certain "Lucky Daniel" of Ohoro town, reportedly compelled the two to harvest certain organs from the victim's body in exchange for 100,000 Nigerian naira (US$242) after the bloody murder, according to AbaCityBlog.com.

The victim's decomposing corpse has been recovered and has been moved to a mortuary.