Crimes

Suspect: We saw small coffin, tortoise in Ondo lynched driver’s car

Victor Amos, one of the suspects arrested for the killing of a 35-year-old driver lynched in Akure, the Ondo State capital, Temitope Olorunfemi, has insisted that some fetish items were found in the deceased’s car.

Amos said a small coffin and tortoise were found inside the deceased’s car before it was burnt.

He made the disclosure while speaking to newsmen after he was paraded alongside three other suspects at the police headquarters in Akure on Monday, April 17.

Others paraded by the police were Samuel Olatunji, Pelumi Farotimi, and Ismaila Durotoye.

It would be recalled that the driver had in an accident killed one person and injured others in the Ijoka area of Akure.

The driver was subsequently mobbed to death while the video of the incident was shared on the internet.

Speaking at the police headquarters in Akure on Monday, the Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Olufunmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, said seven people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Odunlami-Omisanya disclosed that out of the seven, Amos, Olatunji, Farotimi, and Durotoye were the principal suspects.

The police spokesperson said they were among those captured in the video attacking the deceased, adding the suspects would be taken to court on charges of arson and murder after the conclusion of an investigation.

“We have said it without number that jungle justice is illegal and against the law.

“When there is an accident our focus is how to rescue the victims by taking them to nearest hospitals for first aid and never take laws into our hands.

“It’s wrong for anybody to snip the life of anybody; we should allow the law to take its course because it’s not in anybody’s place to kill anyone,” Odunlami-Omisanya said.

Speaking, Amos maintained that some fetish items were found in the deceased’s car.

The suspect, who said he was involved in the beating of Olorunfemi, said: “On getting to the scene of the incident, the deceased had been beaten to a pulp, and he had been soaked in his own blood.

“The okada rider beat him mercilessly. I didn’t even know those that stoned him.

“On getting to the scene, I was moved by the lifeless bodies of those that he crushed, and that made me pick up a stone and hit him on the head. I didn’t even know that he was the younger brother of my friend.

“When I gave him some punches, he held onto my leg and in order to release myself from his grip before he could drag me into the gutter, I tried to choke him on his neck.

“It is true that I saw a small coffin and tortoise inside the car before it was burnt. But I was no longer there when the car was set ablaze. I was not arrested by the police.

“I went to report myself at Ala police station when my picture was being circulated as part of those who participated in the beating. I told the police that I beat and stoned him but I did not kill him,” the suspect disclosed.

Meanwhile, Olorunfemi was on Monday, April 17, buried in the state.

It was gathered that the lynched driver was buried in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The Star