She is a cat-turned-woman –Residents •No, she has mental illness –Police

THERE was drama in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday, over an incident of a black cat which allegedly transformed into a middle-aged woman. Residents of the town woke up to the news as broadcasted by a private radio station during the newspaper review. Nigerian Tribune, however, gathered that the woman, who was alleged to have transformed to human being from a cat, was found inside the store of a four-bedroom flat, painted lemon green and located at No 2, Akinlolu Avenue, off Ring Road, Ibadan, around 6.45 a.m. The discovery generated reactions from occupants of the building, which also house a supermarket and office of an estate agent. The state police command, in a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Adekunle Ajisebutu, however, denied that the woman transformed from a cat to a human being.

Ajisebutu said preliminary result on the victim confirmed that “she is a triplet, whose other siblings are also suffering from mental illness.” But contrary to the police report, one of the occupants of the house informed the Nigerian Tribune that the woman was discovered inside the store thereof the house as a cat when a young girl went early in the morning.” She added that the young girl, who could not believe her eyes, rushed outside to inform other residents of the strange discovery, adding that before they could get back into the store, the “cat” had transformed to the woman. The occupants who stayed afar as a result of the development were said to have put a call through to a pastor, who came to the scene, prayed and sprinkled anointing oil on the “strange” discovery. As a result of the early broadcast of the incident on radio, a crowd of people had gathered at the scene of the incident to catch a glimpse of the “mysterious discovery.”

The recordings of interaction with the woman by some people were recorded on mobile phones and other technological devices and had since gone viral in the state capital. Before the crowd could get uncontrollable, policemen from Orita Police Station arrived at the scene of the incident, interrogated the woman who had already defecated at the spot where she sat and later took her to the station. From the video made by people at the scene, the “woman,” whose words were incoherent, mentioned her name as “Adi Eta.” She was also said to have listed her dad’s name as Eleta. When contacted, Ajisebutu denied the transformation story, adding that “it is not verifiable.” He, however, said the suspect had been taken into a protective custody, adding that insanity was suspected as preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is one of a set of triplet. “Family members confirmed this. All the three suffer mental illness,” he said.