A yet-to-be identified farm worker has allegedly killed a 65-year-old ex-staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) identified as Ibrahim Ajayi Allah in his farm.
WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that the former staff of NNPC who recently retired from the finance department of the NNPC now late was killed on December 13 by one of the workers at his farm in Oke-Oyi, outskirts of Ilorin.
While confirming the death of his brother, the younger brother of the deceased, Yakun Abejide Allah made the following revelations.;
“My elder brother was murdered on December 13th on his farm site in Oke-Oyi area of Ilorin East local government area of the state.
“Three years ago, he retired and chose to pursue agriculture which has always been his passion. He bought hectares of land in Ogidi, Kabba/Bunu local government area of Kogi State and poured all his passion into it. However, because of so many unanticipated factors, the returns were not as expected.
“About six months ago, he decided to gradually move out of Ogidi. So he bought about eight hectares of land at Oke-Oyi near Ilorin and restarted his farming there.
“The suspect picked up by the police is a man from that community with whom he had developed a close relationship. He was always going in and out with the man. In fact, on the day of the murder, they were said to be together and had lunch together before he was savagely axed to death at about 5pm.
“When the police searched the suspect’s house, they found my brother’s phone and other personal effects. He is said to have confessed to having killed my brother.
“I felt so bad when I heard the news of my brother’s gruesome killing. It was the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Oke-Oyi Police Station that narrated how my brother was hacked to death.
“Subsequently, I called his wife and our other family members and broke the sad news to them. The police said they have arrested the alleged perpetrator of the heinous crime. According to them, he was initially detained at the Oke-Oyi police station before being transferred to the state Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Ilorin.
“We learnt that during a search in his house the late Ibrahim’s phones, personal effects as well as other dangerous items the perpetrator used to kill my brother were found there.”
According to TheCable, the wife of the deceased disclosed that she became worried when she did not get the usual morning call from her husband.
“He usually calls me in the morning. He called me on Friday morning. When I didn’t get his call on Saturday morning, I called his lines and none were reachable. Later, one rang and someone picked it and said my husband had an accident and that his phone was with the police and they asked me to come there. I linked them to my husband’s brother in Ilorin before I arrived there.
“By the time I got there, it was already 8pm and I was told he was in the hospital. When I asked to see him, that was when my husband’s brother told me that he was dead.
“A farmer suspected something and called the local vigilante group who reported to the police. When the police came, they saw his car and his phone. That was how I was able to call his number.
“I saw the suspect, his name is Waheed. He actually confessed to committing the crime. I asked him what my husband did to him and he said nothing, that he did not know what came over him. He said my husband used to help him and even promised to buy him a car,” she said.
“He (the deceased) used to squat with the suspect because he is new there. He just arrived six months ago. They used to stay together and go to the farm together until he got his own apartment two months ago. A machete stained with my husband’s blood and his phone were found in his house. He also had wounds on his body and that was how they knew that he was the one who killed him.
“The Oke-Oyi police said they were going to transfer the case to a bigger police station. They had already brought the documents when I was there but since then, I have not heard anything. He has already confessed that he killed my husband and I just want justice. It may be that there are other people involved in the killing.
“I asked for my husband’s body because it was already decomposing and we buried him on Monday.”
The Police Public Relations in the state confirmed the death of the deceased and further added that the suspect has been arrested and investigation is still ongoing.
“Yes, I am aware of that incident. We have a suspect arrested already and intensive investigation is going on. At the appropriate time, people will be informed of the outcome of our investigation, he said.
