By Our reporters

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Detectives attached to the Ondo State Police Command appeared to have  made a breakthrough in the high profile murder of an Owo High Chief, Tunde Ilori, following the arrest of five suspects who have clues to his death.

Ilori, who held the chieftaincy title of Elerewe of the ancient town before he was gruesomely killed three months ago while on a communal assignment and all efforts to track his killers had proved abortive.

Flashes of hope flickered on Wednesday, when a rape suspect was arrested in the town with three AK 47 rifles and further interrogation led to the arrest of five suspects, including a prominent business man suspected to have financed  the murder operation.

Reliable sources said the rape suspect (names withheld), had sexually assaulted a secondary school student before being apprehended by the police.

Upon his arrest, the police reportedly conducted a search on his house, where they found some lethal weapons.

The suspect was said to have confessed that he kept the lethal weapons at home after the murder of Ilori, the Elewere, after which he led the police in the arrest of other suspects.

One of the suspects, (names withheld), it was further learnt confessed that he used a six inch nail soaked with potent charms for seven days to kill the Owo High Chief instead of the normal AK 47 bullets.

According to the suspect, he claimed that he soaked the nail with charms to render impotent whatever spiritual powers a person of Elerewe’s calibre might have been fortified with.

Efforts to get the police in Owo to speak on the development proved abortive .

But sources at the State Criminal Investigative Department (SCIID) hinted our reporter that some suspects from Owo are being grilled over the murder while their relations were seeing milling around the unit

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Funmilayo Odunlami denied knowledge of any arrest, insisting that no arrest had been made.