Some chiefs and residents of Ilashe Ijesa in Obokun Local Government
Area of Osun State on Thursday narrated how the monach of the town, Oba
Adesina Anibijuwon, was killed by suspected members of Odua People’s
Congress, who allegedly strangled him and left his corpse inside his
residence which they set ablaze. Those who recovered his corpse from the
building said the charred remains of Anibijuwon were taken to the
mortuary at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital
in Osogbo by Osun Ambulance Service at around 10.30pm on Wednesday. The
ambulance that conveyed the remains of the monarch was said to have been
escorted to the mortuary by armed policemen and some residents.
The
residents feared that those who killed him might want to seize his
corpse. Some residents who also spoke with our correspondent said the
officials of the state fire service, who came to put out the inferno,
ran out of water. Some residents wondered why some chiefs in the town
went into hiding when the hoodlums invaded the palace, urging the police
to interrogate them to see if they were culpable. The Commissioner for
Information, Mr. Sunday Akere; his counterpart at the Ministry of Home,
Culture and Tourism, Mr. Sikiru Ayedun; and the Special Adviser on
Security, Mr. Amos Adekunle, who visited the town expressed shock on
seeing the extent of damage done to the residence of the traditional
ruler. Our correspondent, who also visited the town, observed that the
upper floor of the two-storey building where the monarch resided was
completely razed. One of the chiefs, Adejumo Operinmade, told newsmen
that he was informed that some persons, who claimed to be OPC members,
came and demanded to see the monarch, but they were told that he was
asleep. He stated that the strange visitors came back and they pointed a
gun to the head of the monarch’s housemaid. They allegedly went to late
Anibijuwon’s room and strangled the octogenarian monarch who had been
blind for over nine years. Operinmade said, “We were told that some
gunmen who claimed to be OPC members came and wanted to see Kabiyesi but
they were told that he was sleeping. “They came back and held the
housemaid living with Kabiyesi hostage and went to where Kabiyesi was
sleeping. But immediately they came out, fire started and Kabiyesi was
burnt inside the house. His corpse was taken to the mortuary at
LAUTECH.” The Sasore of Ilase, Chief Oluwagbemiga Oke, said there was no
land dispute or chieftaincy tussle in the town, wondering why the
suspected arsonists killed the monarch. Chief Jumoke Ogunkeyede, whose
brother gave the burnt residence to the monarch, also said he heard that
the hoodlums, who perpetrated the act, had an accident at the outskirts
of the town while escaping from the scene. He said, “We heard that they
came in a red Mazda 323 and their car veered off into the bush while
they were speeding away. We called journalists from Osun State
Broadcasting Corporation at Ibokun, but when they got there to take
photographs of the car, they saw that the it had been set ablaze. “They
also removed the number plate of the car. I believe that they set the
car ablaze to hide their identities. But the police could still find a
way of unraveling those behind the killing and arson.” The Police Public
Relations Officer in the state, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, told our
correspondent on the telephone that the command had commenced
investigation into the matter. She said, “We are pleading with members
of the public to always furnish police with information any time they
suspect strange persons and movement in their areas. This will assist
the police to prevent crimes.”
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