Adetunji Ajayi, a retired civil servant in Ogun State, has been murdered by hoodlums who invaded his residence in the Imasayi community, in the Yewa North Local Government Area of the state.
Reports said the 62-year-old physically-challenged man was killed around 11am on Tuesday after his wife and children had gone to school.
Punch quoted a family member, Monsuru Jubril, to have said on Thursday, that the deceased, who was a pensioner, was an advocate against insecurity as a respected elder in the community.
He lamented that despite his contributions to the development of the community, the hoodlums rendered his wife a widow and his children fatherless.
Jubril said, “We buried him (Ajayi) on Wednesday. He was a teacher at Oluaso High School in Imashayi. His wife is also a teacher. He had spent 35 years in service and had retired. The hoodlums came around 11am after his wife and children had gone to school. He was home alone.
“The hoodlums entered and used machetes to cut him. He was always complaining about the security of the community. After a video he made around February or March this year, what we discovered next was that he was attacked.”
Punch reports that a one-minute six seconds video clip showed Ajayi talking about how security had become porous in the community.
In the video, the deceased, while appealing to the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, to help in securing peace in the community, was heard saying, “There is insecurity. Things are not going as they ought to. People now carrying sacrifices and robbery attacks are on the rise.
“I have served 35 years, I’m a retired teacher. We don’t have peace of mind. Things are hard in Imasayi and we don’t want crises, we don’t kill ourselves here, but with the way things are going, there is a problem.”
A resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said since the change of the kingship in the community, there had been crises, including killings and robbery, among others.
“What I observed is that it appears the change of kingship in the community did not follow due process. Anyone that talks against the ills in the community is being attacked. Sometimes, hoodlums will attack and beat them on the way,” Punch quoted him to have said.
Another source said some residents in the community could no longer sleep in their houses, adding that people in the community had been living in fear due to the atrocities committed by the hoodlums.
He said, “I cannot give you my name. We are saddened and scared. It has never happened like this before that someone would be murdered in his house. His house is an uncompleted building, and the floor has not even been done, so it is not that he had money, he was a retired civil servant. We will like the matter to be aired so that this can be checked.
“The residents are confused and wondering what happened. The man did not fight anybody. The police have not arrested the suspects. I don’t think people are safe. This town used to be very peaceful, but I can’t say that now.”
Reacting, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, in a statement on Thursday, said the assailants gained entry into the home of the physically-challenged man and murdered him.
The PPRO said, “His family members at the close of work, on arrival, met late Ayaji lifeless in the pool of his blood. The Divisional Crime Officer of Imasayi observed that the buzz line of the deceased was taken away.
“His remains have been evacuated to the General Hospital, Ilaro, where Ajayi was certified dead and his corpse deposited at the Ilaro General Hospital’s morgue for further examinations.
“The Ogun State Police Command has no firm lead about the reason behind this extreme viciousness. However, the Commissioner of Police has been briefed and he has assured the families that the killers, blood-thirsty and cruel-minded criminals will regret their actions as justice will be done and the killers will definitely not go scot-free.”
