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Tag: slain

  • Rivers APC dedicates tribunal victories to slain supporters

    Rivers APC dedicates tribunal victories to slain supporters

    The Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) has dedicated its victories at the election petitions tribunal to the memories of the 99 persons killed during the last elections.

    Its governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside, spoke yesterday at the new Government Reservation Area (GRA) in Port Harcourt, the state capital, during a meeting with stakeholders.

    Peterside accused Governor Nyesom Wike of mortgaging the state’s future by taking huge loans in five months and patching only 10 kilometres of road.

    He said security had deteriorated in the state in the last five months.

    The meeting was attended by Peterside’s running mate, Honourable Asita; APC State Chairman Davies Ikanya; Senator Magnus Ngei Abe and a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche; among others.

    Wike, a former Minister of State for Education, had said his administration was prudent, claiming that he was committed to the state’s development and transformation.

    Peterside said: “The APC’s family in Rivers State has recorded a string of victories at the various tribunals. The tribunal recently nullified the governorship election.

    “The House of Assembly elections’ tribunals also nullified 20 of 32 seats. One was actually thrown out on technical grounds. Two other National Assembly seats have also been nullified and fresh elections ordered.

    “We thank God for His mercies and all the victories recorded so far. What the victories mean is that the APC’s family in Rivers State has been vindicated that no election took place in Rivers State on March 28 and April 11.

    “We want to salute the courage of Rivers people, who have been resilient throughout this period. Who have been faithful to the APC mission and that is the mission of change. To change the way we do things and improve the quality of life of our people.

    “We dedicate the victories to the memories of the over 99 persons who lost their lives during the March 28 and April 11 elections.

    “To prove that we are not making an empty claim, about the fact that people were killed. I will mention a few names: Chief Christopher Adube, who was assassinated with six members of his family in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government of Rivers State.

    “Miebaka Opogilia, who was killed in Okrika; Saturday Makama; Precious Pepple and Corporal Ifeanyi Okoro, who was killed in Okrika, while on a national assignment.

    “They did not die in vain. They laid down their lives for the freedom and prosperity of Rivers people. I am sure that wherever they are, their memories will feel some form of relief, that at least, those they left behind will have the opportunity of choosing the kind of leaders they want.

    The governorship candidate also expressed displeasure about the accumulation of debts, through bank loans, by Wike.

    Peterside said: “He first obtained a loan of N30 billion and we raised the alarm then that, that was not the way to go.

    “As you all must have noticed, Wike, till date, has not justified a penny of the first N30 billion he borrowed. In addition to the many loans he has collected, he has collected revenues from the Federation Account to the tune of N100 billion in five months, since he has been in office and yet our schools are not working.”

     

  • Family, others hold 10th year for slain pilot Agbeyegbe

    Family, others hold 10th year for slain pilot Agbeyegbe

    Ten years after he was killed by suspected assassins, the family of Captain Jerry Agbeyegbe, Aviation industry players and associates yesterday held a 10th year remembrance anniversary.

    The event was held at the family’s home in Ifako Ijaiye, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos.

    The late pilot was the General secretary of Nigeria Aviation Safety Initiative (NASI), the aviation safety watchdog.

    He was killed on October 12, 2004 on the Oworonshoki axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

    Agbeyegbe was critical of issues affecting air safety in the country.

    He was also a former president of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE). Agbeyegbe led a safety campaign in the industry in the late 1990s and 2004.

    The late pilot also led many protests against the liquidation of the former national carrier, the Nigeria Airways Limited and the take-off of Virgin Nigeria Airways.

    He was consistent in his clamour for safer airspace and the need to ensure that navigational aids at the airports were calibrated.

    Agbeyegbe was Nigeria’s foremost airspace system inspection specialist with over 25 years experience spanning corporate and charter, training school, commuter airline, regulatory authority and special application-aerial inspections operations.

  • Family of slain graduate petitions Jonathan

    The family of the late Chukwuma Ihezie, who allegedly died in police custody, has petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan seeking his order for an autopsy to be conducted on the deceased to enable them to take his corpse for burial.

    “Chukwuma died in mysterious circumstances in detention six days after he was arrested by the men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Enugu State Police Command.

    “The police had branded the graduate of Engineering a robbery suspect, an allegation his family had refuted.

    “It was, however, gathered that few months after the police authorities completed their investigations, it was discovered that the deceased was indeed not a robber.

    “The spokesman of the family, Mr. Chinedu Ihezie disclosed that the police, after thorough investigation, discovered that their son was not a criminal.”

    “He added that consequently, the car, laptop and other personal effects of the deceased have been released to the family.”

    “Ihezie, however, said although the police have asked them to go ahead and bury the corpse of their son, it would be difficult to do so as the Enugu State Police Command had allegedly turned down a request for autopsy.”

    A letter addressed to President Jonathan, which was copied to the Senate President David Mark, Hon. Matthew Omegara, Representing Okigwe North Federal Constituency, House of Representatives, The Chairman, Police Service Commission, the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police Enugu State Command, the Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, Abuja, reads in part: “With sorrowful and painful heart, we the entire family of the late Mr. Sabastine Ihezie, hereby cry unto you for your urgent intervention as our last hope on the callous and extra-judicial killing of our son/brother, Chukwuma Ihezie, by some self-acclaimed, untouchable gods of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian Police Force, Enugu State Command.”

    The letter signed by Chinedu Ihezie on behalf of the family of the deceased, is praying President Jonathan to prevail on the police authorities to, among other things, “arrest, dismiss and prosecute the officers involved in the matter.,

    “Conduct a genuine post-mortem examination on Chukwuma’s corpse and release his corpse to us for burial.”

    In the letter, the family of the deceased also said: “Chukwuma Ihezie is a native of Umuozu Ezumoha in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State. Born in 1983 (just 30 years old), he was the last born of the family. A 2013 graduate of Mechanical Engineering of the Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Enugu, he, out of determination, engaged in cab driving to earn his living and pay his school fees.

    “He also continued the menial job even after graduation because of lack of job opportunities. The poor mother toiled without measure to feed and care for the family which was occasioned by the early death of the father. From birth till death, our son had no case of fighting, let alone criminal case anywhere in the world. This attestation stands to be investigated even where he lived, No.8, Concrete Avenue, Railway Quarters, Enugu, Enugu State.”

    “Chukwuma Ihezie was callously murdered in police custody six (6) days after being arrested. He was alleged to have “aided” an armed robber (still unknown and cannot be provided) to commit crime which is unfounded. Our heart is bleeding; our hope is in God Almighty through you. The future hope and light of the family has been so extinguished. We humbly cry unto you, sir.”

    “Note sir, on 12/1/2014, Chukwuma went for his normal cab work and was arrested by Independence Layout, Enugu police men for picking a passenger whom the police falsely labelled a robber. He was kept under detention in their station under a DPO by name Zakari Yau. He was later transferred to Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) Office, by Zakari Yau, alongside with his handwritten statement. The police officer in charge of SARS Enugu State Command was CSP Uche. His 2IC was Felix Bolu.

    “On 18/1/2014, Chukwuma was shot on the spinal cord and killed by SARS without a fair hearing in any court of law. His corpse was dumped in UNTH Ituku Ozala, Enugu mortuary on Saturday, 18/1/2014. Chukwuma was arrested on 12/1/2014 and hurriedly killed on 18/1/2014 to cover up a secret, which could have been unveiled if he was allowed to talk.”

     

  • Slain Abia commissioner laid to rest

    The remains of the late Abia State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Kenneth Nwosu, who was shot by unknown assailants and later died, has been laid to rest in his country home, Amizi Olokoro in Umuahia South Local Government Area.

    Speaking during the funeral service at the St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Amizi Olokoro, the state governor, Chief Theodore Orji, described Nwosu’s death as painful and abnormal.

    In a sermon, Archbishop Emeritus of Aba Ecclesiastical Province, Rt.

    Rev. Ugochukwu Ezuoke, stated that those who shed innocent blood will give account to God and implored the bereaved family not to be embittered or to try to seek vengeance as vengeance belongs to God.

    Dr. Kenneth Nwosu, aged 66 years, was shot on July 9th by unknown assailants.

    The incident, according to the Abia State Police Command occurred around

    Umuajata/ Amakamma road by Stella Inter-Communication in Umuahia South

    Local Government Area, at the outskirts of Umuahia capital city.

  • Police recover body of slain officer in Langtang

    The Plateau State Police Command has recovered the body of the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO), who was declared missing during the recent invasion of Langtang communities by suspected Fulani militia.

    The command has also dismissed two of its officers for allegedly aiding manufacturers of local arms.

    They are: Constable Emmanuel Dakol and Corporal Joseph Dakup. They were reportedly dismissed, arrested and detained on the order of Police Commissioner Chris Olakpe.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in his office in Jos, the state capital, Police Commissioner Chris Olakpe said the body of the slain police officer, Tarfa Wuyep, has been discovered.

    Olakpe said: “On a very sad note, I wish to let you know that the body of the police officer, who was a victim of the attack in Langtang South Local Government Area, was found early yesterday. His body was discovered in a bush near Karkashi village, one of the villages raided by the gunmen.

    “His body was riddled with gun wounds and machete cuts. He was identified by the uniform he wore before the attack. We wish to use this opportunity to condole with his colleagues in the police and his family for this sudden death.

    “We have made high profile arrests in connection with the attack. We will not want to disclose their names now until investigations are concluded.”

    On the two policemen, who were dismissed from the Force, Olakpe said: “In the quest of the command to rid the state of criminals, it has recorded a major breakthrough with the arrest and dismissal of two policemen serving with the command.

    “The policemen were accused of aiding and abetting manufacturers of local arms in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area. Preliminary investigation showed that the accused have direct links with some suspected manufacturers of arms, who are also in our custody. They have manufactured all sorts of guns for criminals.

    “We have always pointed at proliferation of light weapons as a major influence in the violence and most of the criminal activities in the state. We never knew that men of the Police Force could be involved in such act…”

  • Slain Ibadan traders lost N22m, says leader

    Slain Ibadan traders lost N22m, says leader

    The 10 Ibadan traders who were killed by Boko Haram sect members in Monguno, Borno State, last Friday night lost N22million cash to their attackers, it was announced yesterday.

    All was gloomy on Tuesday when the bodies of the Bodija market apprentice beans sellers, who went to buy their goods in Borno – the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency – were brought back home.

    The secretary of the Bodija Market Food Sellers Association, Mr Sola Faribido, told reporters that the money belonged to seven of the 20 traders who contributed cash for the purchase of beans, which they would have brought back for sale in Ibadan.

    He said the traders put the money in a bank in Ibadan, withdrew it in Borno State and headed for the village where they were to buy the beans.

    Faribido regretted that they were attacked, the money taken away from them before they were killed. There were two survivors of the attack.

    He was convinced that the murdered traders were followed from the bank after a possible tip off from banker informants.

    Faribido said many of the traders, who lost money are now in debt, having obtained bank and cooperative loans.

    Recalling what happened, the market leader said: “We heard that our traders were murdered by Boko Haram on Friday. It happened around 3pm on Friday. We were calling their numbers without reply, until two of the survivors showed up to confirm that the others have been killed.

    “It happened initially on May 5. We thought the security measure taken would assist us by not sending majority of the traders to the North but see what happened again.”

    “The effect of this is that prices would go up. The price is now N500. We are traders and we are deeply involved. Those in that line would have to diversify.”

    The mood in the market yesterday was still sober.

    One of the beans merchants, whose three apprentices were murdered, Alhaji Musa Owolabi, aka 77 Elewa, said his losses were unquantifiable.

    Owolabi said: “What can I say now? My boys (Nurudeen Lawal, Ninalowo Saheed and Femi Oyetunde) were among those murdered by the Boko Haram. Whenever we need to buy goods for sale, some of us would gather money and ask a few people to buy for us. That was what happened last week.

    “We learnt that on Friday, shortly after the Jumat, our colleagues who travelled were intercepted and killed. The cash on them was taken away. Now, their family members are mourning. We don’t know how to console them. It is not the money that matters now.”

    Opeyemi Adegboyega, a sister to Seye Adegboyega, one of the slain traders, told our reporter on the telephone that she planned an appointment with her brother on some family issues before he was murdered.

    She said her 35-year-old brother was buried in his house at Amuloko in Ibadan, which he moved into about two years ago.

    He said his fashion designer wife, Anuoluwapo, has been moved to the family house in Olorunsogo.

    The traders association spokesman, Mr Akeem Emiola, dismissed any possibility of a protest, saying: “It is not in our plan to carry out any protest. The governor has not offended us. Security at the market is very tight now and we have appealed to our members to maintain the peace. It is our responsibility to work and that of the government is to provide security, but they have failed us.”

    According to him, during the May 5 atteck when five of the traders were killed in the North, the executive of the union banned the traders from going to the North. He said the ban was lifted when the Hausa started bringing in their goods to Ibadan.

    He said:” “We then lifted the ban because they were making more money while our people were suffering. That was their third trip after we lifted the ban and see what has happened to our people now.”

    It was gathered yesterday that the two survivors, (Taoreed Azeez and Ibrahim Ademola), have been advised to stay indoors by family and friends, who believe they may still be wanted by the Boko Haram.

    Senator Femi Lanlehin flayed the killings yesterday as O’Odua National Coalition (ONAC), a league of many Yoruba self-determination groups, called for an end to such wanton killings.

    In a statement by ONAC’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr Popoola Ajayi, the group urged Southwest governors to set up vigilance groups to stem the tide of violent crimes and terrorism.

    ONAC said its contacts in the North revealed that the “Bodija 10”were murdered in the most gruesome manner.

    “This murder must not go unpunished. Boko Haram is targeting religious and ethnic groups. There is a campaign of terror going on … in the North.”

    The group said the killings underline the urgent need to address the “garrison structure” of Nigeria and guarantee self-determination for the various ethnic groups.

    Lanlehin (Oyo South), in a statement by his media aide, Olawale Sadare,said: “Every right thinking person would mince no word in condemning this dastardly act of wanton killings of innocent, hard working and active patriots. More so, about four of their colleagues had lost their lives in a similar circumstance a few weeks back while pursuing their lawful business activities.

    “The pertinent questions here are: why the gruesome killing of fellow human beings without any provocation? Who takes the blame for such wanton and unjustifiable killings? When will Nigerians be free to live in areas of choice, or move round the country as free citizens without the fear of being attacked at will?”

    Lanlehin sympathyised with the families of the traders, the entire Bodija market community as well as Ibadan people, who have been subjected to untold trauma and agony in view of the development. He called for compensation for the families of the deceased.

  • Police exhume body of slain UNIBEN student

    The body of Ibrahim Momodu, a final year student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), who was killed on May 27 by policemen attached to the Ogida Police Station, has been exhumed.

    The late Momodu was dressed in jeans and a green top with his shoes on. He was buried face down.

    It was also discovered that he was shot in the left side of his chest as against police claims that he was shot in the legs.

    The late Momodu was allegedly killed by a Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ogida Police Division, Mrs. Carol Afegbai.

    He was killed on May 27 at about 9pm on his way home after he was accosted by policemen on patrol led by the DPO.

    Mrs. Afegbai said she shot Ibrahim in the legs because he resisted arrest. She said a gun was discovered in his bag.

    A statement posted on her Facebook page reads: “Does these portray the image of a student? Are guns and riding of unregistered motor cycles at 22:30hrs, attempting to shot a policeman, a new syllabus for university students?

    “Let’s face reality and tell our selves the truth, no sane human being takes pleasure in taking the life of an innocent citizen thanks.”

    The exhumation was done, following an order of an Egor Chief Magistrate’s Court based on Chapter 41 of the Coroner’s Ordinance.

    Several protests by civil society organisations, students and relatives made the Edo State Government to set up a judicial panel of enquiry to unravel the circumstances of the killing.

    Police pathologist Dr. Wilson Akhiwu supervised the exhumation.

    The deceased’s family had demanded for the exhuming of the corpse in a protest letter to the government.

    A police ambulance, marked NPF 4707 C, was used to convey the body from the cemetery to the Stella Obasanjo Hospital.

    Relatives said they identified the late Momodu with the clothes and shoes.

    The police authority led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Hilda Harrison, paid the family a secret condolence visit.

    The late Momodu’s mother, Mrs. Osas Momodu, said the police assured them of carrying out further investigations.

    Mrs Momodu, who was in tears, said her son’s spirit will hunt his killers.

    She accused the police of whipping up false and multiple allegations against her son.

    “My son has never passed the night outside. When I woke up that day, I felt uneasy. On Tuesday, I left for work. I came back to discover that the food I left for him was still there. I called his phone. It rang all through the night on Tuesday.

    “So on Wednesday, May 29, I went to lodge a complaint that my son had not been home for 48 hours and they referred me to Ogida police station.

    “It was from there that all these troubles started. My son was called unprintable names. He was not a criminal. He never did drugs and has never carried arms.”

    UNIBEN’s spokesman Harris Osarenre, however, said the late Momodu was not a student of the institution.

    The Student Union Government, led by Osifo Osasere, vowed a showdown with the school management, if the statement was not retracted.

    Osifo displayed the late Momodu’s identity card and other registration documents.

    The family’s counsel, Jefferson Uwoghiren, in a statement, demanded for the arrest and prosecution of Mrs. Afegbai.

    He said it was an embarrassment for the school authority to mislead the public.

  • Our agony, by brother of slain ACN vice chairman

    The elder brother of the late Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Vice-Chairman (Southeast), Chudi Nwike, has spoken of the family’s ordeal.

    Bufo Nwike said after his younger brother was abducted, the family entered into negotiations with the kidnappers.

    “I wonder why they killed him. The kidnappers have agreed to collect N5million to release the late Nwike, who was also a former deputy governor of Anambra State.

    “The kidnappers demanded that my brother’s wife and I bring the ransom to them.

    “But we refused and told them that we would rather give it to a neutral person, who will bring the money to them. And they agreed.

    “We got someone and chartered a car for him. Both men took the money to the abductors at Abraka in Delta State, as agreed.

    “The kidnappers collected the ransom and killed my brother, the man who brought the ransom and even the driver of the chattered car. Why?

    “We were waiting for him, for his phone call for us to come and pick him up. We didn’t know all these had happened.

    “We only got to know when a policeman attached to the Central Police Station, Agbor, Delta State, phoned my niece to inform her of her father’s death.

    “We have recovered the body. It has been deposited at the Iyienu hospital mortuary, Ogidi.”

    At the late Nwike’s home in Amawa village, Ogbunike, Oyi Local Government, sympathisers were discussing.

    Most of them believed there was an “insider-element” to the story.

    Though the widow and children were not in the village, a condolence register has been opened there.

    The late Nwike (61) was reportedly abducted on the Auchi–Abuja road on March 19. His body was discovered in Agbor on April 9.

    Another version said he was abducted from his home at Ogbunike.

    Governor Peter Obi has condemned the killing, describing it as pathetic, crude and inhuman.

    Obi described his death as a great loss to the state and country.

    “By this death, the state has lost another experienced voice in terms of advice about governance,” he said.

    The governor described the killers as barbarians.

    He said such callousness has strengthened his resolve to continue to fight crime in the state.

    Obi assured the family that the government shares in their sorrow and prayed to God to strengthen them.

    The police could not be reached for comments.

  • Slain distributor’s remains buried

    OVER one year after his death in police custody, the remains of Ademola Adedeji, were interred yesterday.

    The death of Adedeji, who was a major distributor of Rites Food products, is still a subject of coroner’s inquest.

    He was arrested in February 9, last year, in the company’s premises, where he had gone to buy products, for allegedly “refusing” to pay his debts. He was a destributor with the firm for four years before his death last year. He was the firm’s “distributor of the year in 2010”. The late Adedeji had earlier denied owing the company and requested that an independent external auditor be invited to look into the claim.

    The company rejected his request and got him arrested. He reportedly died in custody that night, barely two hours after his wife left him “in good health” at the Ikeja Police Station.

    While testifying before the coroner, Magistrate Tajudeen Elias, the widow, Cecilia, had said: “We tried all we could to secure his bail but the police told us to bring N1million. His friend wanted to even deposit a brand new car; they refused. When I called the security officer of Rites Food, he said I should either comply with police demands or leave my husband in custody. It took three months before I was allowed to see my husband’s corpse.”

    At the funeral, Cecilia was too distraught to speak. Other family members thanked Governor Babatunde Fashola for waiving the accumulated mortuary fee of N434,000 incurred since Adedeji’s body was allegedly deposited by the Investigating Police Officer(IPO), David Egbon, “without informing the family”.

    “We thank God and the Lagos State Government for the help rendered in getting the corpse. When we got burial warrant last December and we got to the mortuary, we were told our bill was N434,000. We appealed to the government and it came to our rescue,” said the late Adedeji’s uncle, Adewale Ajayi.

    The family’s lawyer, Clement Eko, said: “The bill should have been more, but because Governor Fashola had waived it, we were not charged anything.”

    The Public Advice Centre (PAC) took interest in the inquest based on The Nation’s report and referred the case to the Office of Public Defender (OPD).

    During proceedings before the coroner, it was confirmed that Adedeji died of suffocation following intake of irritant gas. The pathologist, Dr. Francis Fadeyile, during a cross examination, said Adedeji was brought in dead, against police claim that he died in hospital, where he was reportedly rushed after developing complications in custody. Fadeyile said his findings “revealed marked fluidity of blood in Adedeji’s body even after three days in the refrigerator, which is unusual since the blood should have clot.”

    Eko said the late Adedeji’s family had been finding things difficult since “Ademola was the sole breadwinner.”

    “The wife is not working because her husband wanted it so. Now, things are difficult. She has already withdrawn a child from school,” he said.

    Ajayi sought help for the late Adedeji’s children, saying: “He was a pillar in our family. Our mother died on March 3, last year, three days after we told her of Ademola’s death.”

    The late Adedeji was born in Ilesha, Osun State. He moved to Lagos after his secondary education and started trading.

  • Painful bye to slain ex-naval officer

    Tempers rose; invectives poured in torrents. Tears flowed without let, as the lifeless body of the “good man” was being lowered into his final six-foot-long abode. His bereaved family’s hordes of sympathisers were not left out of the emotional infection. It was last Friday at the Victoria Court Cemetery, Lekki, Lagos State.

    It was the last farewell to the late Johnson Kayode Olanrewaju, an ex-naval officer, who was callously cut down ten days after his 54th birthday – on January 17 – by some yet unknown gunmen.

    After 13 years with the Nigerian Navy, he had worked with Exxonmobil Producing Limited for a decade as Marine Security Coordinator. He was on his way back home from Cardinal Securities, Lagos, where he last worked when agents of death seized him. Three gunmen intercepted his blue Toyota Avensis Wagon, just a stone’s throw to his 27, Adeyemi Street, Alakuko, Ogun State home.

    His wife, Modupe and their son, Tunde watched helplessly as he was bundled into the trunk of his car. The gunmen drove him off after dispossessing the trio of their valuables.

    After a frantic search, the late Olanrewaju’s children got the shocking news of his death the next day. It was at the Sango Police Station, where his car also parked. There, the family was told that the late Olanrewaju had been killed along Ota Road. Then, his body was already lying in the morgue at the Ifo General Hospital, where it was deposited by the police.

    One of his daughters, Oluwakemi who works with Intels Nigeria Ltd, Warri, Delta State, recalled how it all happened: “Our father was on his way from work that fateful night. He had gone to take our mother back home from her shop at about 9.45 pm. Eye witnesses told us that at Oluwatobi Junction along FPF Campbell Road near our house, he was intercepted by three gunmen who took all they had on them before driving our father away in the trunk of his car. Immediately, our mother rushed to Alakuko Police Station to report the case.

    “The next day, our mother went with us to Sango Police Station following directives from Alakuko Police Station. There, we saw our father’s car. It was parked intact. It was there we were told that our father was shot dead by armed robbers the previous night.”

    The police swore to get his killers, but it ended there. And the family accepted their fate and moved to burry their dead. The arrangement began with a service of songs at a wake-keep held at the family’s Alakuko residence last Thursday.

    Before the interment at Lekki, a soul-stirring service was held in his honour by officials of Christ Apostolic Church (Power of God Centre), led by Pastor Tola Otujinrin. The roomy church and indeed, its premises, were jam-packed with sympathisers who, amid sobs, recounted the late Olanrewaju’s sterling virtues.

    At the service were the deceased’s wife, Modupe; their children, Oluwakemi, Olalekan, Bukola, Dipo; his sister, Mrs Abosede Akinseye; his cousin, Mr. Akande Ilesanmi; Lekan Arasanyin (cousin); Niyi and Femi Olanrewaju (brothers); his friends, Soji Aremo and Raphael Ogedengbe, and Bobola Adeniyi of Intels Limited, among others. His kinsmen from Okeagbe, his Ondo State home town, were also there.

    Pastor Otujinrin urged all to imbibe Christ-like virtues which, he noted, were exemplified by the late Olanrewaju’s life.

    “With people’s comments and, in fact, looking at the crowd here today, there is no gain saying the fact that the late Olanrewaju lived a worthy life that must be emulated by all. He lived for God by living for his people. It is not about how long you live; it is about how well you live your life, especially in line with God’s commandments,” the cleric noted.

    It was a flood of tears when the late Olanrewaju’s body was being lowered into the grave. His wife and children were inconsolable; so were their relations. Ilesanmi cried like a baby.

    As their relations and sympathisers fought tears, they held the widow and her children by their arms when it was time to perform the dust-to-dust rite.

    Heartfelt curses rained on the killers of the “caring man.” “Sir Kay (as he was fondly addressed), those who did this to you have offended God. They must pay for it,” Mrs Akinseye bemoaned.

    To Ilesanmi, Olanrewaju’s killers had hurt many families. “His murder is not only a blow to his immediate family; his killers have tampered with the fountain of joy of many who were lucky to come across Sir Kay,” Ilesanmi said, adding: “He was everything to me. In fact, at every point of my life, he was there for me on all fronts. He was caring to a fault. Indeed, he epitomised the real essence of religion. He was a rare blessing to mankind.”

    In her tribute, Olanrewaju’s widow said: “You have truly been a friend and brother since the day we got married. We both promised to stay together and watch our children grow to become great, but the unexpected happened. Right in my presence, you were taken away and while I was expecting you back, we received the sad news of your death the next day. Who will be there now to encourage me and advise our children? I will miss your presence around me.”

    His brothers – Niyi and Femi – agreed that the late Olanrewaju was the “binding cord that held the family together as one,” adding that he would leave no stone unturned to positively touch the life of whoever came across him.

    Femi recalled: “One of his friends was once seriously ill and deserted by all. Despite Kayode’s busy schedule, he stayed with him and gave him financial and emotional supports until the man eventually passed away. He was a perfect gentleman and exemplar of Godliness.”