Iyin-Ekiti, a sleepy community in Ekiti
State was on Friday, March 20 thrown into pandemonium as a 25-year-old resident
of the community, Wale Ede, allegedly beheaded a 50-year-old man, Mr. Joshua
Olaseinde Fagbola, a father of seven.
The suspect is currently being held at
the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Ekiti State Police Command
Headquarters, Ado-Ekiti pending the conclusion of investigation by the police.
The deceased was, until his death, a
patrol assistant with the Directorate of Road Traffic Service in Ado-Ekiti, the
Ekiti State. The incident happened at about 8pm in Iro Quarters, Iyin-Ekiti.
Investigations revealed that Ede
attacked Fagbola at about 8pm in the evening of Friday, March 20, when the
deceased was about to start the engine of his motorbike and leave the venue
where he had just attended the wake of a relative.
Residents who witnessed the incident
stated that Ede suddenly brought out a cutlass from the umbrella he was holding
and cut down Fagbola, first from his neck and then his face and other parts of
his body. The victim was immediately drenched in blood. He later died in a
hospital where he was rushed to in the area in the presence of his wife.
“Immediately he committed the crime, Ede
ran away to his place at 6 Baba Moni Street, Iro Quarters. He took his mother
and bolted from the community. But the police later found him and have detained
him,” a resident who claimed to have witnessed the crime narrated.
Wife of the deceased, Mrs. Aina Fagbola,
43, who had a baby strapped to her back, was crying as she recalled the tragic
incident. Amidst tears, she narrated how she learnt about her husband’s
horrifying murder.
“It was about 8pm last Friday that
people came to our house, crying. They told me that my husband had been
attacked. I rushed to the place where we had just held the wake for his late
relative. There, they told me that my husband had been rushed to the hospital.
It was there that I met him. He was drenched in blood. He took one look at me
before finally giving up the ghost.
“My husband was a very peaceful man; he
never had any quarrel with anyone, and residents in this Iro Quarters can
attest to this. This man that killed him had collected N500 from my husband
since January this year. With the money, he was supposed to get the things he
would use to make some blocks for the house we are building. But he refused to
do that thing since and also refused to refund the money. I was told that my
husband seized his cell phone on Thursday, March 19, in order to ensure that
his money was refunded. That was why he attacked my husband on Friday and
killed him and has now made me a sudden widow. Look at me; I’m wearing rags. My
husband was just a junior government worker and we have seven children already.
The baby I’m holding is just a few months old and he’s our last born. Our first
born just turned 19 and has gained admission into the Federal College of
Education, Ila-Orangun. Who will sponsor her now? Where will I get the money to
feed our children? I have no work at all,” she sobbed.
Also speaking with the reporter,
Fagbola’s first daughter, Modupe, 19, said she had just been admitted for a
three-year course in English and Yoruba Education at the Federal College of
Education, Ila- Orangun, Osun State. She said she was with her father a few
days ago when he promised to pay her school fees.
Her words: “My father was a very caring
and reserved man. He had promised to pay my school fees the last time we spoke.
Now that he’s suddenly gone, there is no one to help me. Our mum is not
educated and she’s not even working. But if the government can employ me, I can
struggle to take care of my siblings and still go to school. All we need now is
help. Please, we need help. We are appealing to people out there to help us.”
Residents said that the suspect had been
at the wake for over an hour before he struck.
“We had seen an umbrella with the
suspect in which he hid the cutlass with which he struck Seinde. He had been
sitting around at the event and some of us were asking him what he was sitting
there for. He said he was just waiting, not knowing that he was planning how to
unleash terror.
“The deceased wanted to leave the place,
so he went to a corner where he had parked his motorbike. He climbed the bike
and was about starting its engine when Wale, who had been trailing him from
behind, suddenly struck him on the neck with the cutlass. He then began
stabbing him on the neck and face and other parts of his body. After committing
the crime, he ran away from the scene and went to his mother’s place. He would
have run away from this area if the police had not apprehended him,” a resident
explained.
Police Public Relations Office in Ekiti
State, Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) who
confirmed the incident, said the suspect was being held at the CID in
Ado-Ekiti.
“It has been reported that Wale Ede
allegedly beheaded Mr. Olaseinde Fagbola on March 20. The suspect is being held
at the state CID and we are still investigating the matter,” the police
spokesman
said.
Culled: The Sun
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