Cases of assassination spark concerns among Ondo residents

It will be worse than kidnapping if not checked- Residents Experts blame absence of intelligence-gathering We are not resting – Police   The assassination of some socialites and business owners has sparked concerns in Ondo State, Daily Trust can report. The cases of gruesome killings, by unknown assailants in the state began last year, and […]

• It will be worse than kidnapping if not checked- Residents

• Experts blame absence of intelligence-gathering

• We are not resting – Police

 

The assassination of some socialites and business owners has sparked concerns in Ondo State, Daily Trust can report.

The cases of gruesome killings, by unknown assailants in the state began last year, and are creating fear in the minds of the people of the state.

Several cases of assassination, which included the gruesome murder of a renowned Akure-based socialite, Sunday Adebayo, popularly known as “Say Bayo,” had been reported.

Mr. Sunday, 52, was killed in cold blood by unknown assailants in December last year in Akure. He was declared missing a day before his murder when his lifeless body was found in his black-tinted Acura vehicle at Ijapo Estate in Akure metropolis.

His assailants were said to have hacked him on the forehead, with signs of acid bath on him and blood stains on his body and in his car.

The police went after the killers of Sunday and apprehended two suspects, Adeniyi Adebisi Atinuke, 29, and Ade-Ojo Ilesanmi Isaac, 50, and charged them to court.

Meanwhile, an ex-banker turned caterer, Ms Debbie Olakunbi Monsurat Adene, was also gruesomely killed by assassins in her room at Oda Road in Akure South LGA of the state.

The late Adene, who was the former President/Chief Executive Officer of Country Kitchen/Events, was found in a pool of blood at her bungalow, five days after celebrating her 54th birthday. Her death sent shock waves through the people, especially her admirers.

The deceased had relocated to Ondo from Lagos some years ago when she found things rough but started struggling to make a living. She had abandoned her career before venturing into a small business, which later turned into a big and full-fledged catering services company.

One of her younger brothers, Adebola Oyeneye, who confirmed her death, said he received the death of his sister through a phone call in disbelief.

Mr Oyeneye said he decided to travel to Akure and got to the house where he met three police officers with an ambulance, wondering why they were in his sister’s house.

“While going into the room, I perceived a foul smell. I went in and saw her in a pool of blood, and I screamed. The body had already started smelling, which means she must have been killed about two days earlier.

“I could see her head with deep cuts, her hand almost chopped off while her leg had a deep cut and was dangling.

“I believe she was attacked with a cutlass, which we found there splattered with blood just like the walls. All the clothes there were also splattered with blood. I saw deep cuts on her chest, and her intestines were out,” he said.

In March, a business mogul, Alhaji Ismaila Awoyinka, was killed in Ore, the headquarters of Odigbo LGA of the state. The deceased, who was a popular building materials merchant, was shot at close range by his assailants at his residence located in the Idi Mango area, opposite the Caring Heart Mega School in Ore town shortly after he returned from the mosque where he had joined the Ramadan special prayer.

While the security agencies were still investigating the murder of Alhaji Awoyinka, another prominent businessman at Ipele in Owo LGA of the state, Aiming Ibrahim, was also hacked to death. Although the police said it arrested one 18-year-old suspected cultist, Suleiman Dantata, linked to his assassination.

Also, in the early hours of Tuesday, residents woke up to the shocking news of the assassination of a popular hotelier and socialite, Adesoji Johnson Adeleye, who was murdered at his hotel in Arakale area of Akure South LGA of the state.

Adeleye, who owned the Klass Five Hotel and Bar, was in one of the guest rooms when the assailants found their way into the premises and stabbed him to death.

A staff of the hotel, who spoke in confidence had expressed surprise at how the gunmen gained access into the hotel, overpowered his boss, and stabbed him severally before leaving him in a pool of blood and running away.

“Surprisingly, my boss doesn’t always have deep sleep because he ensures that he monitors his business. So, he only goes inside to take short rests and wake up again early enough, even before we arrive, the next morning to start cleaning everywhere,” she said.

 Fear grips residents

Residents said they have not been able to sleep with their two eyes closed any longer amid the cases of gruesome killings and assassinations in the state.

They complained that if the situation persists, it might cause another insecurity challenge aside from the cases of kidnapping and banditry currently being witnessed in the state.

A resident, Abiodun Aikomo Adeleye, expressed concern at the way people are being murdered in the state without the assailants being arrested.

“It’s becoming tough now. People are killed like foul or animals. The sight of blood stains and bodies dismembered is worrisome. Sadly, these unknown people get away with the crime, and the families of victims continue to lament in pain, demanding justice that they won’t get on time. It’s sad,” Mr Adeleye said.

Speaking on the security challenges in the state, a security expert, Mrs Funmilayo Omoniyi, said the government should put security agencies in the state on their toes.

Omoniyi, a former security personnel, who called for proper synergy among security agencies in the state, identified a lack of intelligence gathering as part of why the perpetrators of the heinous crime get away without any trace.

“What’s more annoying is how these criminals disappear into the air after committing the crime. I think the police, DSS and other security agencies have to step up their job in the area of intelligence gathering.

“We can’t continue to have people being killed, and we talk about progress, development and investment in a place where there’s heightened security,” she added.

Speaking on the development, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Olayinka Alayande, said the police were not resting on their oars towards ensuring that residents go to bed without fear of attacks.

Mr Alayande explained that the police command under the Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, had been putting officers on their toes in ensuring adequate security of lives and properties in the state.

“We can’t deny the fact that there have been pockets of killings in the state, but I can also confirm to you that we have made a handful of arrests in relation to this crime.

“At least 31 suspects have been arrested in the past few months in the state, and 14 of them are currently standing trial in courts of competent jurisdiction. So, we are doing our possible best to ensure that people can rest and sleep with their two eyes closed.

“The police command under the current CP, Wilfred Afolabi, has been up to ensure there is adequate security and protection. He’s not even resting. He’s always on the field to ensure we have a free society and has been deploying more officers to nooks and crannies to ensure there is security protection everywhere.

“Let me also tell you that we have been able to enrich security protection with the community/police relations. In fact, just of recent, IGP Egbetokun approved a drone for us in the state to tackle part of these issues of insecurity we are talking about. So, the police are not resting at all.”