Ede Killing: bereaved family cries for justice

…PDP lawmaker, CSP Omoyele culpable – family

Following the alleged murder of two persons on Friday in Ede, Osun State, members of the family of the deceased have called for government’s intervention to beam searchlight into the incident in order to ensure justice.

The bereaved family also urged concerned authorities to come to their aid in fishing out the perpetrators most importantly one CSP Omoyele who allegedly shot at the deceased.

Recall that two persons believed to have worked for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last governorship election in the State were gruesomely murdered over a mere argument which, eyewitnesses said would have ordinarily been settled without leading to rancour or face-off.

It was gathered that one CSP Omoyele who has been penciled down to be the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the Governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke led a team of police officers to the operation that eventually led to the killing of two persons belonging to the same family.

While one of the deceased was a supporter of the APC, other members of the bereaved family are strong members of the PDP in Ede-North.

According to them, the incident started on Friday’s evening after a fracas ensued between members of the party at a Ward meeting held in the town.

It was reported that one Mr. Olalekan Abideen and Mrs Kafayat Olalekan were gruesomely killed same day over the crisis.

Narrating their ordeals in tears, the younger sister of deceased, Mrs. Rukayat Olalekan Olasoji alleged that the PDP’s lawmaker and CSP Omoyele as masterminds of the unfortunate killings.

According to her, the duo led the team of the police officers that shot and killed the two members of their family over an argument that had been resolved and laid to rest.

Mrs Olalekan who claimed to be a die-hard member of the PDP in Ede-North, affirmed that except his younger brother, Mr Olalekan Ibrahim Tunde who is a supporter of the APC, every other member of the family especially her mother and siblings are PDP loyalists.

“The whole thing started when we had an argument at our Ward meeting last Friday over the left over money that was supposed to be given to each polling unit in form of appreciation to the PDP members that worked for the victory of the party in the last governorship election.

“We were asked to collect N250,000 each from the sitting lawmaker that represents Ede-North State Constituency, Hon. Nurudeen Kofoworola Olajide but we were told that he (Olajide) said he had spent the money. This generated mixed reactions to the extent that everybody in the meeting angrily departed.

“After that, we were invited by the party’s elders to forget about it which we obliged. But at the meeting, there was a young guy that insulted our mummy which we rebuked and later, a team of officers came from the Divisional Headquarters to intervene and the matter was settled amicably.

“But 30 minutes after, a team of police officers accompanied by Hon. Olajide, stormed our compound and started shooting sporadically into the air in a bid to arrest. They later asked me to follow them to the station, an order that I obliged immediately. But fortunately, my brother, Mr Olalekan Abideen who was later shot and killed was just returning from work, and he blocked the front that they must explain why I needed to follow them, but in the process, one of the officers, one Omoyele shot at him and he fell down immediately and was taken away.

“Though at that time, nobody knew if he had died or not, and that raised fears in us calling the lawmaker that led them to know where they took his body to but he (Olajide) didn’t pick calls.

“The incident instigated many people around and they started reacting as many scampered for their lives. But not quite long after my brother’s corpse was taken away, I went to the Police Divisional Headquarters to formally report the incident.

“I was in the police station when same team came back together with Hon. Olajide to inform us that his father’s house has been set ablaze and that we were the ones responsible for it.

“He, Hon. Olajide said to my face that he came back to kill me and if not that he didn’t bring his gun along, he would have killed me personally too but this was prevented by the police officers from the Divisional Headquarters in Ede who explained to him that since i have been with them, I didn’t leave and there was no way I would have perpetrated such as alleged.

“Though he left in anger insisting that he will go after my immediate younger brother to kill him too. I was told that he headed to our compound but he he didn’t meet my brother and on his way back, he asked the officers with him to kill my brother’s wife who was innocently returning home.

“The deceased, Mrs Kafayat Olalekan who backed her kid was shot on the chest but the military personnels who were passing by at that time rescued the baby and took her to the police station where we later recovered the kid”, she added.

Fielding questions from journalists, Mr Olalekan Ibrahim Tunde a younger brother to the deceased whose wife was equally shot and killed accused Hon. Olajide and CSP Omoyele of masterminding the fierce operation that led to the death of her wife and elder brother.

According to him, the lawmaker had on several occasions threatened to harm his late brother for being loyal to the ruling party forgetting that his mother and siblings worked and still working for the PDP.

“I know this was premeditated to eliminate our family. I know those that perpetrated the killings and I know why they are after our family particularly my humble self.

“Prior to the incident and to be precise, before the election, Hon. Olajide who led the team of the police officers that carried out the killings asked me to destroy the APC billboards with offer of cash, a request I declined frankly and since then, I have been on their trail.

“Though I am a loyalist of APC but my mother and other siblings are PDP loyalists and we never quarrelled over this. I was part of those that worked for his victory in 2019 but now, I am in APC but my family are in PDP. They are not ordinary members, they are staunch party loyalists.

“I see no reason for such action. I intervened when I was told that one of the PDP members insulted my mother and was on the verge to beat her up and immediately people came around, we resolved the matter not knowing that they had ulterior motives to destroy our family.

“I can say it categorically that Hon. Olajide and officer Omoyele killed two members of our family and burnt down residence at our family house,” Tunde Olalekan added.

Expressing her ordeal in tears, the elder sister of the deceased, Mrs Yetunde Olalekan appealed to the State Government and other concerned authorities to come to the aid of the family saying ‘no one is save anymore.

Mrs Olalekan who was crying profusely, said the political party their family chose had destroyed them, and called for immediate investigation into the incident.