A 23-year-old man, Ahmed Oyekola, allegedly killed his grandfather and uncle in Ibadan on Sunday, saying that he had yet to understand the evil spirit that got into him to behave the way he did.
The suspect, who reportedly confessed to killing his grandfather and uncle was arraigned at the Chief Magistrates Court 8, Iyaganku, Ibadan, on Thursday, September 12 on one count charge of murder.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs I.O. Osho, ordered the remand of the accused at Agodi prisons, pending legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecution. The case was adjourned till November 12, 2024.
He was said to have disclosed that he entered his grandpa’s room and rummaged it to pick things when the old man asked who it was because he couldn’t see him.
“He thought his grandfather was sleeping. When he saw that he had been caught in the act, he picked a pillow and used it to suffocate Pa Oyekola, killing him instantly.
“When his uncle, who was in his room, heard the commotion and tried to get up to see what was happening, Ahmed rushed at him and hit him with power bank in the mouth, injuring his lips and chin.
“He made sure that his uncle also died and left the house with a small carton in which he put the Jalamiyah and Ankara that he stole from his grandfather’s room,” a credible source said.
When 23-year-old Ahmed Oyekola surreptitiously visited his grandfather, Pa Jimoh Oyekola, and his uncle, Mr. Semiu Oyekola, at their residence in Odo Eran area of Apete community in Ibadan, Oyo State on September 8, 2024, he had thought their neighbours and kin, who reside at the same building, would have gone to their shops for their daily businesses. He had always exploited the fact that his 82-year-old grandfather, and his uncle, aged 46, were both blind and had been like that for over two decades. Family members said he had always stolen their money, which were mostly gifts by people to cushion the effects of the physical challenge they were suffering.
On the fateful day, it was learnt that Ahmed Oyekola had left his Alubata area of the same Apete at about 5 p.m. to his blind grandfather’s Odo Eran residence. His mission was the alleged usual theft of his money. However, Ahmed was caught in the act this time.
A relative of Pa Oyekola who did not mention his name revealed that children, who were playing football beside the house, had seen Ahmed when he went into the house. They were said to have alleged that he came out with blood stains on him. The relative added that the children went to tell a tenant who was at a nearby motor park what they saw and that she was the one who made his arrest possible.
It was further gathered that an irate mob almost lynched the suspect at the scene, but the police at the Apete Division of Oyo State Police Command saved him from being lynched. At the police station, the mob was still baying for the blood of the suspect. The Divisional Police Officer was said to have devised means to smuggle him out and immediately took him to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Iyaganku, for safety.