UNKNOWN assailants have reportedly burnt the Baale of Olowe Gbagura in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State, Chief Akin Muheedeen to death
This was coming barely two months after the gruesome murder of the Olu of Agodo, Oba Ayinde Odetola, in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State.
It was gathered that the community head had gone out to observe the Islamic Morning Prayer (Subhi), when fire was discovered within his compound.
Family sources said the man was killed by some unknown persons, who they said broke a window to gain access to where the man was assassinated.
They were of the belief that the assailants set the man ablaze after killing him.
It was gathered that the deceased Baale had an issue with some people over land matters.
It was gathered that the village head was recently arrested and arraigned for his alleged involvement in a tussle with some individuals claiming ownership of a land he was equally laying claim to.
The village head, who was expected to appear in court on March 15, had reportedly commenced the amicable resolution of the matter before his death on Monday morning.
How it happened—Wives
One of his wives, Silifat, while confirming the incident, said she was returning from the mosque around 6am when she saw fire billowing from 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,” Silifat said.
His second wife, Iyabode, said she slept in the same room with her husband, saying her husband left the room at dawn to urinate and pray as usual.
“He used to pray every morning, so he went out around 6am 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,” Iyabode explained.
Condemnation trails act
Speaking, the Seriki of Olowe, Chief Kazeem Dauda, while condemning the incident, explained that there was an issue between the Baale and some individuals.
Dauda said: “I got a call 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.
“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.”
We’ll unravel killers — Amotekun
Reacting to the incident, the State Commander of Amotekun Corps, David Akinremi described the incident as very unfortunate, saying that no reasonable person should expect such thing to happen.
Akinremi added that the State command of Amotekun will collaborate with other security agencies in the state to unravel circumstances surrounding the matter.
He said: “Differences should not be settled with violence that is why we have security agencies and court of law to settle any differences between the people.
“Though, we learned that the late village head was involved in land matter, but as security agency, we will not limit our investigation to land issue alone. We will extend our investigation to other areas.”
Police, Ogun govt keep mum
When contacted, the Ogun State Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said he had not been briefed about the incident.
Also, efforts to get reaction from the State Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Afolabi Afuwape proved abortive as all calls put across to his phone were not going.