The gruesome killing of High Chief Iloritunde Elerewe in Owo last December sparked a lot of outrage and protests, with many calling for justice. However, the deceased family say the manner in which the police have been handling the matter leaves much to be desired and are now calling on higher authorities to intervene. Gboyega Alaka spoke with family rep, Hon. Olasupo Olakunori.
It’s now three months since High Chief Iloritunde Elerewe, the Elerewe of Owo Kingdom was gruesomely murdered. For those who saw his corpse before it was evacuated to the morgue and from the picture that has circulated, it remained one of the goriest sights imaginable, as the assassin’s bullet pierced his left eye, snuffing life out of him and throwing his family, relatives and loved ones into sadness and despair.
The late Elerewe had reportedly been summoned to a disputed farmland belonging to his chieftaincy family in Owo on the 15th of December, 2021, when he was shot in the eye around 11.30am. He was in company of three other persons, one of whom also sustained bullet wounds but later survived. Police said he was shot with an AK47.
His death according to members of the late Elerewe family and Owo residents, sparked a huge protest among the youths, who demanded that the police immediately swing into action and fish out his killers. That protest lasted three whole days, of which no vehicle could enter the town.
According to the late chief’s cousin, Hon. Olasupo Olakunori, who spoke to The Nation on behalf of the family, the shabby manner in which the police seem to be handling such a serious matter leaves much to be desired. First, this was a high chief, a kingmaker to the esteemed Olowo stool and a very prominent member of the ancient and renowned town.
Second, the family suspects a strong conspiracy, as the late Elerewe Iloritunde had been enmeshed in several battles, some involving portions of a 200hectare Elerewe family land, which, traditionally belong to his family.
Third, Elerewe Iloritunde and his cousin, also of the same Elerewe family but born of another father, Oluwole Folahanmi, were enmeshed in a long-drawn battle over who should emerge the next Elerewe of Owo. Both brothers, according to Olakunori, tussled for the Elerewe title for seven whole years before it swung in favour of the late Iloritunde and the immediate past Olowo, Late Sir Folagbade Olateru-Olagbegi III, installed him a few years before he passed on. It must be said also that Folahanmi was an influential politician and chairman of Owo Local Government, which aided his struggle and prolonged the whole battle.
“The former Gov. Olusegun Mimiko was very interested in the matter and favoured the opposition, Folahanmi. Based on that, the late Olowo Olateru Olagbegi, could not install Iloritunde, until Gov Akeredolu took over. But the battle did not end there, as a lot of issues and fight soon erupted. At a point, Folahanmi wrote a petition, accusing Elerewe Iloritunde of armed robbery and possession of arms. They said they saw him with gun. He was subsequently summoned and detained for six weeks at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. Following investigations, however, the police exonerated him and he was released along with those accused with him.
“Following his release, the late Elerewe shook off the incident. He figured it as one of the efforts to destroy him. In truth, they could have succeeded if he had stayed a few weeks more in detention. As a kingmaker, he had a mandatory traditional rite to perform in the installation of the new Olowo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, and if he was not available, that would have disqualified him from the title. That he was also being investigated over a criminal matter even made it worse. Naturally, his rival would have been installed to perform that rite. So again, his rival stood to benefit.
“Also, in the morning of the day he was murdered, an eye-witness, whom we cannot reveal his name for safety considerations, told the police that he saw Folahanmi around scene of the crime. Naturally, that makes him a prime suspect. And though he was invited for questioning by the police, he was released that same day, which made them go about boasting that nothing could happen.”
Olakunori said this irked the family and they wrote a petition, demanding that the police revisit the matter, conduct proper investigation and fish out killers of their patriarch.
According to Olakunori, the family suspects an individual, but they also suspect a conspiracy in the manner the late Elerewe was suddenly summoned to the land where he was killed.
Set up, conspiracy and police complicity
“We suspect that it was a set-up and he walked into a trap. We suspect that he was set up by somebody very high in the society and that a high profile politician was also involved. The matter was reported to the Commissioner of Police in Ondo State and one of the suspects, the former Chairman of Owo Local Government, Oluwole Folahanmi, was arrested. But he was released that same day. How do you release a suspect in the death of such a high profile chief in less than 24 hours? We, the complainants, further discovered that the police, during their investigation, abandoned the vehicle we provided for them and went about in the vehicle of the suspect. Tell me, how could they be fair under such circumstance? So we wrote a petition that we had no confidence in the process and that we suspected that they had become complicit, even co-opt by the accused person, using his political clout.
“After releasing the major suspects, everybody became scared and went about their business quietly. Now, it is business as usual, and it seems the matter has been swept under the carpet, possibly forgotten. But we, the family, choose not to forget. We want the killers fished out and brought to justice,” Olakunori said.
Olakunori also accused the police of going to conduct autopsy on the late Elerewe, without informing the complainants.
“After releasing the suspect, the police went to the mortuary where the body of our brother was kept, to conduct an autopsy on him, without inviting any member of his family. What we suddenly heard was that they had gone to do the autopsy. From what we heard, they even went with the other party, the defendant, which is unheard of. None of us was there to even witness the process. How then can we not suspect the process?
“Also, the police have not charged the case to court, even as we speak. They sent the file to the DPP for advice, and within three days, the DPP and the Attorney General of Ondo State exonerated the suspect. Now, that has never happened before in the history of Nigeria. Of course, the Attorney General and the suspect are in the same political party.”
Appeal to Inspector General of police
“Consequently, we wrote to the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 19, which oversees Akure ad Ekiti, that we were not comfortable with what the lower strata of police had done in respect of our matter. We said we had seen all the conspiracy, and even established all the facts and misdeeds of the police commissioner of Ondo State and his team. The petition was approved and assigned to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 19), but this was two months ago. As we speak, nothing has been done. Nobody has been arrested. Literally, the matter is being frustrated. But we insist. The people who shot him are not from the moon; they are from our same society; so the police owe it as a duty to themselves, to society and to our late brother, to fish out his killers and bring him to justice.”
Said Olakunori, “We are especially calling on the Inspector General of Police to step in and restore order in this case. We want the suspect re-invited and properly interrogated by neutral officers, not those that had given him a pat on the back in the past. If indeed he was seen near where the deceased was murdered, what was he doing there? And if indeed the police are telling us he is not guilty, they should produce whoever is guilty.”
We are also calling on Ondo State governor, himself an Owo indigene, to pull his weight and ensure that justice is done in this matter.
Why Elerewe title is so coveted
Explaining why the Elerewe title is such a coveted one, Olakunori said anyone who assumes that title immediately becomes the custodian of the massive 200hectare land amongst other coveted properties. “When my own father was the High Chief Elerewe, I remember that the tenant farmers used to bring a full trailer load of yam as isakole (land tax) to my father. However, after his death, the next Chief Elerewe didn’t follow up and that tradition was almost forgotten until Elerewe Iloritunde assumed the title. He actually set out to recover all lands and property back to the family fold. He tussled with Chief Atelegi, who was a chief in charge of all land in the area and was then superseding over the land at the time. He took the matter to Olowo Ajibade Ogunoye, who intervened, set up a committee to investigate his claims and eventually ruled that the land belonged to Elerewe Soloye, our great grandfather. Atelegi was ordered to hands off the land and he complied. He also summoned all the farmers on the land and told them that Elerewe Iloritunde was the rightful owner of the land and they should thenceforth defer to him.
Two months after Atelegi quit the land, Ateloye Jacob now encroached on the same land. When Elerewe warned him to quit, an argument ensued. Not long after, somebody went into the farm and fell sick and died; so it was concluded that Ateloye probably put a charm on the farm. The matter was reported to the police, but the police advised them to take the matter to court. However, the Elerewe, being a high chief in the kingdom, first took the matter to the Olowo. The Olowo ordered Ateloye to remove all charms on the farm, to which he agreed. Olowo now set up a committee to investigate the matter. It must be said that during the first visit to the land, they went with full security, a full hilux loaded with policemen. But days to the second visit, the Olowo lost his elder brother, and he thus suspended all activities in the kingdom that December (2021). Suddenly, on December 14, Olowo’s secretary called to inform the late Elerewe that Olowo had given a directive that the committee and the Elerewe should revisit the farm the following day for further investigation. This surprised the Elerewe, especially because the Olowo had not lifted the ban on activities. But because of the not too smooth history between the father of this reigning Olowo and our own father, the Elerewe decided to comply within such a short notice. He didn’t want to be seen to be reawakening the old feud between their two fathers or of being disloyal to this Olowo.
“Unfortunately, that cost him his life, as he literally walked into a trap. His wife said he was reluctant but decided to comply. While we are not directly accusing the Olowo, this whole story also cast some doubt on his person. Like I said, the first time they went to visit that land, it was with full security; so why summon this emergency meeting to the same site without any security? Besides, the Olowo had yet to lift the ban on activities in the kingdom. Mind you, the father of this Olowo and our own former Elerewe (Ojo), my late father were not in good terms, to the extent that he even deposed my father as Elerewe of Owo. It was the succeeding Olowo, Sir Olateru Olagbegi, who returned my father to the title.
“It was on his way back from that disputed portion of the farmland that he was shot by assailants. To make matters worse, as we speak, the Olowo is yet to make a public statement regarding that cruel murder of his high chief. That, as far as we, as a family are concerned, leaves a lot to be desired.
“But even if everybody decides to keep quiet, we will not keep quiet. Also because the killer has been on the loose, everybody is now scared. All my brothers and uncles have run away and no longer visit Owo. They figure that if such a high profile chief could be killed just like that without any repercussion, then nobody is safe. Even, I, as politician, am not safe as well and have not been to Owo for some time. As a result, we escalated the matter from state to zonal level, yet nothing has happened. You won’t believe it, I was at the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of crime in Zone 17, when some people came and were telling him that this matter must not see the light of day. They did not know who I was, and he was just smiling as they spoke. It was after they had gone that the ACP told me, ‘Can you see life?’