How a group of taxi drivers went in search of their missing friend... and ... trends now
Stumbled across in the depths of the Soka forest in Nigeria was a dilapidated building, overgrown with weeds and crumbling beneath the weight of the deadly secrets it held within.
The rotting building, dubbed the 'house of horror', was discovered just over a decade ago by a group of motorcycle taxi drivers who had gone off the beaten track in search of a lost friend.
But what they would find, would haunt them for a lifetime.
Buried in the middle of the thick forest in Ibadan, Oyo State, it was originally believed the run-down house was being used by a construction company.
Yet 23 survivors were rescued from the building in 2014, with cops unearthing numerous body parts, decomposing bodies and personal effects of kidnapped victims.
The building was found to be a grisly hub used for human trafficking and sacrifice, coordinated by kidnappers and black magic ritualists who are often backed by affluent Nigerians and politicians who may have used flesh for rituals.
Reports from the time said that several severely malnourished people were also found aimlessly wandering in the bushes near the building, and that at least 15 other captives were found chained together in iron shackles inside.
The surrounding area was found to be strewn with human skulls, limbs, clothes, shoes, and school uniforms, believed to belong to the previous captives held in the ghastly building.
The 'house of horror' was found by a group of motorcycle taxi drivers in the Soka forest in Nigeria, in 2014
Piles of clothes, shoes, personal identification and school uniforms were found among the piles of decomposing bodies and rotting flesh
Human skulls, corpses, and fly-infested remains were unearthed in the building and in the surrounding areas of the forest as cops investigated the scene
The discovery
Between March 22, 2014, and March 25, 2014, the peaceful city of Ibadan was thrown into a whirlwind horror-movie-esque situation after a series of horrendous findings took place.
First, the discovery of the 'forest of deaths' in Soka where numerous people had been killed for rituals and several others kept for reasons that, to this day, remain a mystery.
According to a report by The Nation, the riding group, known as Okada, had received a series of distress texts by their friend and colleague, Kazeem, from Olomi, who claimed he had been abducted by kidnappers.
After desperately attempting to hunt down their fellow taxi driver friend, they ended up on the doorstep of an abandoned brick building.
In the hopes of finding their friend in the seemingly safe shelter within the jaws of the forest, they ventured inside and were met with a hellish view.
Inside the abandoned house, piles of rotting bodies and decomposing flesh lay on the filthy blood-splattered ground, with bones and personal belongings strewn across the floor.
But chained in a line in a corner were 15 people - thin and weak.
Kazeem would unfortunately not be one of them.
Cops quickly arrived on the scene after being alerted to the driver's findings.
Inside the building, 15 hostages were found shackled to each other on the dirty ground as their belongings were strewn across the floor
Shallow graves were uncovered throughout the Soka forest. It was revealed that even young students had been kidnapped and thrown into the horror house
Victims of kidnapping are often tortured or used as sacrifices in black magic rituals
Some local reports from Nigeria contradicted the widespread reports that 15 people had been found, and shared gory details of how after the police had stormed the dungeon-like building, around 18 males and five females were found shackled on the ground with chains wrapped around their legs.
One of the women was said to have delivered a baby just the day before before being rescued, but her newborn was immediately sold.
Several more corpses with flesh half-eaten by wild animals and insects were found throughout the forest, and deep dry wells littered with body parts were also uncovered.
Bodies were discovered in open containers, and a platform with a large wooden plank was situated in the building covered in clots of blood from previous slaughters.
The kidnapper's den was also scattered with mutilated hands and limbs, women's bags, identity cards - even including those of students from the private Lead City University, Ibadan.
Children's school uniforms were also said to have been uncovered from the piles of belongings, giving officers the tragic impression that even young students had been kidnapped and thrown into the horror house.
Witnesses reported swarms of flies and an overpowering stench coming from the house after suspected years of bloody murder and human sacrifice.
As officers scoured the nearby shrubbery, open graves were discovered in the earth where bodies had been dumped, and locals gathered around to watch the grisly scenes unfold.
Some told local reporters that victims of kidnapping are often tortured or used as sacrifices in black magic rituals.
In urban centres, including the nation's economic capital Lagos, corpses are often found by the roadside with some of their vital parts missing, especially eyes and genitals.
It was also reported that the bush was where human parts were freely sold to people who came through the area at night.
When the local Governor Abiola Ajimobi arrived at the scene, he attempted to calm down a group of rioting locals who pleaded with authorities to rescue others feared to have been kidnapped.
He said: 'The reason why we came here today was because of an ugly incident that happened.
'We were informed that you, the residents, did not know what was happening here. As you did not know, so we, too, did not know.
'If you who live in the neighbourhood did not know, how then can we who live far away know? But, we thank God for exposing all these.
'All those who did these horrible things, God would expose them'.
Ajimobi also shared a warning to locals, and urged them to 'remain very vigilant and not hesitate to report matters like this to security agents'.
But just three days after the chilling discovery and mass rescue mission, a man was caught at Oni & Sons Bus Stop, Ring Road, with three human tongues.
With tensions heightened after the gruesome finding of the 'house of horror', he was attacked
