The police in Ogun state has arrested three suspects over the murder of a landlord identified as Akinola Agbede, in his residence in the Ajuwon area of Akute, a border in Ogun and Lagos states.

 

 

The hoodlums perpetrated the crime after Agbede reprimanded two suspects who were apprehended for stealing shawarma at a shop close to his residence.

 

A resident in the area who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the two suspects, after being cautioned and released by elders in the community, allegedly mobilized the hoodlums to attack the deceased at his residence. The resident said prior to the attack, the suspects had threatened to cut Agbede’s hand for hitting one of them when they were being paraded in the community for stealing shawarma.

 

“We were told one of the boys stole shawarma. When the boy stole the shawarma, some elders in the area caught him and his accomplice and paraded them in the area. They were made to kneel down and given some other punishments. When Agbede came around, he wondered why the suspects, whose ages were between 21 and 25, would be stealing. He asked why they decided to be stealing at such a young age and hit one of them with his hand. He later left the place and the elders in the community released the suspects afterwards.

But after some time, one of the boys (suspects) told Agbede that they would cut the hand he used in hitting them. A day before they attacked Agbede at his house, the suspects used dangerous weapons including broken bottles to chase him in the area.”

 

The resident of the area added that Agbede was at home with his family members when the suspects and their accomplices invaded his premises and used a machete to hack him to death in front of his wife.

 

 “Agbede was stabbed to death with a machete at midnight on June 8. The hoodlums were later arrested by policemen attached to the Ajuwon Police Station. It was a sad experience for his family because he was already planning to travel abroad with his wife and children. Because their visas were even ready, he sold his house; he collected N10m and had a balance of N1.5m.

Agbede’s wife and children had been taken away from the house because of the shock of the incident. I can no longer visit the house also as blood was all over the crime scene.” the source said

 

 

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the state police command, Omolola Odutola, said three suspects had been arrested and investigation into the matter is ongoing.