Some yet to be identified assailants on Monday set ablaze the Baale of Olowe Gbagura in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State, Akin Muheedeen.
It was gathered that the community head had just returned from observing the Islamic morning prayer when assailants set him on fire.
The incident came over a month after the Olu of Agodo, Ayinde Odetola, was killed and burnt to ashes in Ewekoro Local Government Area of the State.
PREMIUM TIMES reports a source, who does not want to be identified because he doesn’t have the family’s permission to speak, saying that the killers broke a window to gain access to where the man was assassinated.
It was gathered that the deceased Baale had a conflict with some people over land matters, which may have led to the killing.
The source also added that he was recently arrested and arraigned over the same matter.
The village head, who was expected to appear in court on March 15, had reportedly commenced the amicable resolution of the matter before his killing on Monday morning.
One of his wives, Silifat Muheedeen, while confirming the incident, said she was returning from the mosque around 6 a.m. when she saw fire in their compound.
“When I saw the fire, I shouted, I didn’t know what was happening. I rushed down, only to discover that my husband was on fire, already dead. We later found out that a window at the back of the house was broken. We didn’t know who killed him.”
His second wife, Iyabode Muheedeen, said she slept in the same room with her husband, saying he left the room at dawn to urinate and pray as usual.
“He used to pray every morning, so he went out around 6 a.m. to urinate and prepare for prayer. After about 15 minutes, I heard my senior wife shouting, ‘fire, fire’. I rushed out to discover that it was Baale that was on fire. He didn’t go out with fire or matches. We don’t know who did this,” said Mrs Muheedeen.
In his reaction, the Seriki of Olowe, Kazeem Dauda, while condemning the incident, reaffirmed that there was a conflict between the Baale and some individuals.
“Few days ago, I was here with him to talk to him not to panic about the case in court. Some people have been claiming ownership of his land. He was even arrested and granted bail in court. He was supposed to be in court again on the 15th of March. He was a gentleman. This would be the first time he would have an issue with anyone.
“I got a call this morning that ‘he burnt himself to death.” I said, ‘how come?’ But when I got here, we discovered the window was broken. He couldn’t have burnt himself like that.”
The Ogun State Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, could not be reached as phone lines were both switched off.
