Why we burnt Oba Odetola to death – Suspects confess

Why we burnt Oba Odetola to death – Suspects confess

Some suspects arrested in connection with the gruesome murder of the Olu of Agodo, Oba Ayinde Odetola, have told the police why they engaged in the act.

It was reported that Oba Odetola was burnt to ashes in Agodo, Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State on January 24.

The monarch, alongside three others, were attacked by some assailants who fled immediately after setting the Oba ablaze in his car.

But, the efforts of police officers from Zone 2 comprising Lagos and Ogun paid off as they apprehended 11 of the suspected murderers.

While telling the police why they decided to send the Oba to the great beyond, they said he was a land grabber, otherwise known among the Yorubas as ‘Ajagungbale’.

According to Hauwa Idris Adamu, the Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, Onikan, Lagos, a brother to the late monarch, Odetola Okuribido, had petitioned the police that the late monarch was murdered by one Gbeminyi Sotade and his cohorts.

Okuribido told the police that the deceased was in Agodo village on a portion of land to clear the graveside of his late brother.

He said a group of about 50 hoodlums, “led by one Gbeminiyi Sotade attacked him while three of his relatives were assaulted and macheted.”

He explained to the police that the hoodlums dragged Odetola into his Toyota Sienna car, saying one Agbara drove the vehicle to a nearby forest.

“They poured petrol on him and the vehicle was finally set ablaze with the corpse locked in it,” it was said.

Contrary to speculations, Adamu added that the three persons attacked with the Oba – Deborah Onilere, Alfa Wahab and Lydia Odetola, did not die as they narrowly escaped death.

While saying the 11 arrested suspects have confessed to their involvements in the crime, he added that when asked why they murdered the Oba, “they claimed he was an ‘’Ajagungbale’ (land grabber).”

Meanwhile, efforts are in top gear to arrest other suspects at large, Adamu stated.

He warned people against taking laws into their hands, stressing that whoever is caught would face the full wrath of the law.