On the new year day of 2023, a couple and their child were murdered by some assailants in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the victims are yet to get justice, one year after the incident.
Like many worshippers, Kehinde and Bukola Fatinoye, alongside their only surviving son, Oreoluwa, attended the 2022/2023 crossover service at the Christ Anglican Church Iporo-Ake, Abeokuta, Ogun State. After the service, they returned home, basking in the euphoria of witnessing a new year.
But for the Fatinoyes, it was a return into the hands of agents of death. The couple were gruesomely murdered by assailants who stormed their semi-detached apartment, a few hours after a crossover into the new year.
Oba Karunwi Road, a street right behind former Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s palatial residence, in Ibara GRA, Abeokuta, Ogun State, where the ill-fated family’s residence was located, became a beehive as the incident sent jitters down the spine of everyone in the state.
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According to reports, the assailants after killing the couple, set the building on fire. The only surviving son, Oreoluwa, and an adopted son, Felix, were tied with ropes and thrown into the Ogun River.
The family was still healing from the death of Oluwatunmise, the youngest of the two sons, who died in June 2022, while playing football.
The festive period was meant to bring relief to the brooding couple. And like many, they attended the crossover night service and returned home, only to meet their death.
“The assailants took advantage of the busy cross over night into the New Year to carry out the dastardly act,” Abimbola Oyeyemi, former spokesman of the State Police Command, explained.
In February, police arrested and paraded suspected killers of the couple. The family’s driver, Lekan Adekanbi, was the prime suspect. The two other suspects are Ahmed Odetola aka Akamo and Waheed Adeniyi aka Koffi.
The command’s spokesman said during interrogation, Lekan Adekanbi, who has been the couple’s driver since 2018 confessed to being the mastermind of the dastardly act. He stated that he invited the other two suspects Ahmed Odetola aka Akamo and Waheed Adeniyi aka Koffi to come and join him in order to rob the couple. He further confessed that he took the step because the couple refused to increase his salary, and that he approached them for a loan to buy a motorcycle, but they didn’t oblige him.
“He further stated that on that fateful day, himself and his two accomplices waited for the couple to come back from crossover service since he has access to the house and they pounced on them immediately they entered the house.”
‘Our intention was to collect money not to kill’
Speaking with newsmen, the driver admitted to have masterminded the attacks on the family, but his intention was to rob his boss of money and not to kill members of the family.
He said “I didn’t intend to kill my boss and her husband. I just wanted to collect money from them. They employed me as a driver, but later they added to my duties, home cleaning, washing clothes and feeding the dog.
“I asked for a raise in my salary after adding to my duties aside from being the driver. I was being paid N25, 000 which is not enough for me to feed myself and my family.
“I also asked him for a loan to be deducted from my salary for a year so as to allow me raise money for an investment. When I made my request to the husband, he said I should not worry.
“After two years, I decided to remind him on his birthday in June, but he didn’t do anything.
“So, I decided that I will collect my money from them. I planned with someone in my area. He collected N40, 000 from me to rent a gun. The man refused to rent a gun. He deceived me.”
Speaking of the operation, he said the third suspect, Koffi, was the one who killed the couple by cutting off their heads before setting the house ablaze.
He said “I’m not the one that killed them, it was Koffi who killed the man and his wife.
“Koffi told me to take the woman from the room to the compound. He looked for a knife, and cut the man’s head. When he was done, he asked me to bring the wife back to the room. When we entered, we saw blood on the floor.
“Koffi used the same knife to cut the woman’s head and she fell down. He asked if we had petrol. We found petrol inside a gallon, which we used to set the house ablaze.”
Trial
Few days after the arrest in February, they were arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Abeokuta, on an 11-count charge of murder, conspiracy to commit felony, arson, stealing, escape from lawful authority, among others.
The suspected killers – Adekanbi Lekan, Odetola Ahmed and Adeniyi Waheed – were remanded at the Oba Correctional Centre, while their accomplices – Fadairo Temitope and Adekanbi Adenike – were remanded at the Ibara Correctional Centre.
The magistrate Esther Idowu remanded the suspects for 60 days pending advice from the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP).
The trial has since lingered on, but it was gathered that it has been transferred to a State High Court.
One year after…
One year after the incident, life has indeed moved on with the souls of the deceased begging for justice in their graves.
Last week, a committee of friends held a memorial service for the family at Christ Anglican Church Iporo-Ake, Abeokuta.
The Vicar, Ven. Isaac Abioye, during the service, vowed that the killers of the couple would not escape justice.
Delivering his sermon at the solemn assembly, the clergyman recalled that the couple and their son, Oreoluwa, attended the crossover night of 2022/2023 before they were murdered a few hours later.
Abioye said the killers and their accomplice would not get away with the “dastardly act.”
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the church service, he said “The Fatinoyes did their best, but there is nothing that happens to man that God does not know about. God knows the best for all of us.
“As Jesus Christ said, ‘if this cup can pass over me, it is not my will, but your will Oh God’. The same thing applies to the Fatinoyes, they got to the bus stop, they alighted and they met their Lord.”
Responding to questions on the trial of the suspects, the vicar vowed that the suspects would not get away with the murder.
“The day I saw the arrest has been made, the confession made by the culprit to the police, nothing can exonerate them again. They confessed to doing it, slicing the throat of the man, killing the wife with a sledge hammer and throwing the son into the Ogun River. If they confess that, how will they now be set free?
“The justice system will still be able to handle the case correctly,” he said.
The deceased’s younger brother, Zacchaeus Fatinoye, described the incident as a great shock that would never leave the family.
“We don’t know what they are still waiting for. They made an arrest, shot them (suspects) in the leg, but we still don’t know what they are waiting for? However, whether they kill them or not, the incident remains a great shock that would never leave the family,” he said.
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Yinka Folarin, the Vice President of the CDHR, blamed the justice system over the delayed judgement on the case.
Speaking on the incident, he said “It’s a sad development that was condemned and still remains condemnable. It is sad that up till now, just like the way the case of late Chief Bola Ige went, we are yet to get any good news from the security agencies. Though we heard some persons were apprehended, we have not gotten much concerning the prosecution of those apprehended.
“When such is not seen, one feels that justice is being denied and this is not too good for our society. It promotes unjust acts and gives credence to evil acts.”
Mrs Yemi Olanrewaju, retired Permanent Secretary and a friend of the family, said “I pray to God something will happen very soon concerning the case because sometime last year, a retired PS and his wife were killed in Lagos and already the judgement had been passed. I think theirs happened six months after the Fatinoyes. I pray to God that something will happen before the end of this year.”
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