Bricklayer, wife allegedly kill son over ‘habitual stealing’

A bricklayer, Monday Elela, has allegedly killed his son, Tope Elela, and buried his remains in a shallow grave at their home in Ondo State.

Mr Elela, 34, in connivance with his wife, allegedly committed the crime at their residence in Ajowa Akoko before he was apprehended by operatives of the Ondo State Police Command last week.

The suspect was paraded by the police alongside other suspects after he was exposed by some neighbours for allegedly killing his son.

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While speaking with journalists in Akure, Elela, a father of seven children, said his deceased son was a frequent visitor to police stations and Amotekun Corps cells due to constant thefts.

He said he only beat the deceased and also spranked him for causing the family embarrassment with his “habitual stealing” in the neighbourhood.

“He (the deceased) was the one causing us the most problems. All he did was break into people’s houses. He was well-known in our neighbourhood and had been arrested by the police many times, but he wouldn’t change.

“Out of the seven children I have, he is the one that always causes problems. The last incident involved the Amotekun operatives, who arrested him and took him into their custody.

“While in custody, he escaped through a small opening created for air ventilation in the cell. He broke the iron bars and jumped the fence to escape,” he said.

According to him, “We were at home when the Amotekun members called us and said our son had escaped. We began to search for him along with some of their officers. But we later found him where he had gone to hide, and we took him home.

“Upon arriving home, we only spanked him with our hands for his wrongdoings and the embarrassment he had caused us. However, we were unaware that he had already been injured while with the Amotekun members. After we spanked him, he ate his food, took a bath, and went to sleep.

“It was at daybreak that we instructed his younger brother to wake him up so that we could all go to the farm. When he didn’t respond, we realised that he had died.”

“I quickly rushed to where he was sleeping with his mother, and we confirmed that he had already passed away. So, we took his body and buried it in our backyard. We did not kill him. He is the third child among my seven children, he added.

Parading the suspects, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Wilfred Afolabi, said Elela was among the criminals arrested by the men of the state command recently.

“On December 30, the police received an anonymous call that one Elela Monday living in Ajowa Akoko killed his 14-year-old son named Tope Elela and buried him in a shallow grave under a banana tree behind his house.

“The suspect was arrested and during interrogation, he said the boy was always involved in criminal activities and was embarrassing him, so to put a stop to the disgrace, he and his wife decided to kill the boy,” the CP said.

He, however, promised that the Elela would be charged to court.