Charcoal dealer, others allegedly kill Ikole-Ekiti chief over adultery accusation

The Ekiti State Police Command has arrested a charcoal dealer and some other suspects alleged to have murdered a 35-year-old chieftaincy title holder in Ilotin, Ikole-Ekiti, Chief Sola Fatunla. The Ekiti State Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State Command, Mr Sunday Abutu, who confirmed the murder, said Fatunla, who was the Onibedo of Ilotin, Ikole-Ekiti, […]

The Ekiti State Police Command has arrested a charcoal dealer and some other suspects alleged to have murdered a 35-year-old chieftaincy title holder in Ilotin, Ikole-Ekiti, Chief Sola Fatunla.

The Ekiti State Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State Command, Mr Sunday Abutu, who confirmed the murder, said Fatunla, who was the Onibedo of Ilotin, Ikole-Ekiti, was killed in his farm last Sunday.

Our correspondent gathered that the assassins set Fatunla’s corpse ablaze after killing him.

It was learnt that the charcoal dealer, said to be a Tiv whose name was given simply as Sunday, had accused Chief Fatunla of snatching his wife, Tadeni, with whom he (Sunday) had two kids before their marriage collapsed.

Sunday was, however, said to have apologised to Fatunla later and pleaded with him to use his position as a Chief in Ikole Ekiti to help him recover his load of charcoal that some people had seized.

A police source said, “While the Chief was accompanying him to where his charcoal was seized, the Tiv man allegedly connived with others to abduct Chief Fatunla and Miss Tadeni somewhere around Iyemero Ekiti, in Ikole local government, Ekiti State.

“The Chief was strangled to death and his corpse set on fire. However, Miss Tadeni escaped from the abductors. Sunday and his other accomplices were caught by vigilante men in the Pategi area of Kwara State as they were escaping.

“When the vigilante men stopped Sunday and his accomplices and were questioning them as to their mission in the area, especially despite the lockdown, Chief Fatunla’s phone that Sunday kept in his pocket rang and he refused to answer the call. One of the vigilante men collected the phone and answered the call only to be told that the owner of the phone was abducted.

“The vigilante men then handed Sunday and the others to the police in Kwara State, who transferred them to the police in Ekiti State. Chief Fatunla’s remains had been recovered and deposited in the mortuary, while Sunday and the other suspects are being detained by the police in Ekiti State.”