Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf
A HOTEL near which suspected cultists killed a youth in Lagos has repudiated claims that the hoodlums were lodged in its facility.
On September 24, 2020, a clash between members of Eiye and Aye cult groups clashed outside Soulmate Hotel & Suites in the Fagba, Agege area of Lagos, resulting in the killing of one Segun Ogunmodede.
Mr Victor Adeyemo, a manager at the hotel, said some unscrupulous persons orchestrated reports that Ogunmodede’s killers were lodged in Soulmate Hotel.
Speaking to The Nation on Thursday, Adeyemo said the hotel did not accommodate the suspected cultists.
He said, “On that fateful day, we heard gunshots outside the hotel premises at 8pm and I quickly called men of the New Oko-Oba police station. When they came to the scene of the crime and asked what happened, I told them no member of the hotel staff was outside. They later watched our CCTV footages which showed that the fracas had nothing to do with the hotel. Later, men of the Special Investigation Bureau, Ikeja, also invited me for questioning and promised to get to the root of the matter.”
Adeyemo accused one Chief Ajani Olutade, the Lisa of Orile Egbiri Town, of masterminding the negative reports linking the hotel to the crime, claiming that Olutade, who is the chief security officer of the area, once lobbied the hotel to hire a member of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) as guard, which they declined.
Adeyemo claimed that floating the complicity story was Olutade’s way of getting back at the facility and its management.
Read Also: Cultists sack Akwa Ibom church
Police inspector Patrick Odion, of the Special Investigation Branch (SIB) told The Nation that preliminary investigation and CCTV footages monitored by his team did not establish any prima facie case against the hotel.
Baale of Orile Egbiriland, Chief Samuel Adegboyega, the traditional ruler overseeing the community, told The Nation that the hotel was not to blame for the incident, adding that several letters were written to the police, urging them to curb the incessant cult activities in the area, all to no avail.
Chairman of the Community Development Association (CDA) Prince Adeyemi Babasola said the hotel has been “a blessing” in the community.
Olutade himself has recanted. In an apology letter made available to our correspondent, he apologized for his role in the development, saying, “I’m appealing to the management to forgive me and I promise that such thing will not happen anymore”.
He told The Nation, “After realising my mistakes, I had to do an apology letter.”
Leave a Reply