Three suspects have been taken into custody for the murder of Naval Officer Sub-Lt. Samuel Akingbohun In ldo-Ani, Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State. Their interrogation has reveals the motive behind the officer’s killing and the specific actions they took following a heated confrontation.
While being paraded by the state police command, Ayomide Sambo, Johnson Adeleke, and Shagari Francis, aged 17, confessed to the murder of the officer, citing his assault on one of them as the reason for their actions.
Reliable sources have disclosed that the three suspects had recently finished their secondary school studies in the town before being implicated in the murder case.
The suspects recounted how they used an iron rod to deliver blows to the officer’s head and scrotum, providing a vivid description of the manner in which they carried out the act.
Ayomide Sambo, aged 20, described the incident wherein his friend, Johnson Adeleke, was physically attacked by the naval officer, who allegedly slapped and gave him a headbutt while both parties were engaged in a dispute over the right of way in the community.
‘We were so annoyed that we went after him and we cornered him at a junction, where we attacked him using an iron rod.’
‘We were on our way to collect a power bank when we encountered the naval officer. He was coming from the opposite direction, and the portion he was coming from was bad.’
‘We were both trying to take a good path when my friend used his shoulder to shove the officer. “In annoyance, the naval officer slapped him and also gave him a headbutt. We started to beg the naval officer. After the naval officer had left, my friend said it was fake military personnel.’
‘It was then that we took a bike and traced him to the junction and challenged him.’
Read also: Ondo: 3 Apprehended for Navy Officer’s Killing
‘The naval officer and my friend started fighting. It was in the process that I picked up an iron rod and began to hit him all over his body. My friend also collected the iron rod from them and started hitting him. ‘But the two of my friends are now denying it and saying that I was the only one that hit him with the iron rod.’
‘We have never seen the officer before. That was the first time we set our eyes on him. Even the Okada rider that carried us was saying that where my friend hit him with the iron rod was dangerous.’
‘We were arrested while trying to flee from the town. I was first arrested, while the other two were arrested the following day after I told the naval officers their whereabouts. The two of them are now saying that I was the only one that hit him.’
Disputing the allegations made against him by Ayomide Sambo, the second suspect, Johnson Adeleke, aged 20, maintained his innocence and denied any connection to the beating and killing of the officer.
Adeleke said: ‘When I was on my way to remove my power bank, I mistakenly hit my elbow with the navy officer. He slapped me and gave me a headbutt. At that moment, we didn’t know that he was a naval officer.’
‘After the fisticuffs, we took a bike and traced him. After catching up with him, I confronted him, but he refused to say anything.’
‘The friend of the naval officer used his elbow to hit Ayomide, it was at that point that Ayomide picked up the iron rod and started hitting him. I did not hit him at all, it was Ayomide that was hitting him.’
‘I was already out of Idoani in a bid to escape when my mother’s elder brother called me to report to the station.’
In an interview, Shagari Francis, aged 17, made the following statement as the third suspect: ‘I didn’t hit the naval officer. I was just following them. I was arrested when my mother took me to the station to ask if I was part of them.’
Speaking on behalf of the command, Funmi Odunlam, the spokesperson, confirmed that the suspects would go through a police investigation and would then be charged in court for prosecution.
Odunlami added, ‘Currently, three suspects are in custody, and in the course of interrogation, we realised that one Ayomide Sambo was one of those mobilised to the scene, and when he got there, he carried an iron rod, hit him on his head and his testicles, and started stoning him.’
‘Later, he became unconscious, and he was rushed to the hospital in the town, where he was confirmed dead by the Doctor.’
The suspects’ detailed account of the incident implicates one of them as the primary aggressor, striking the officer with an iron rod leading to his demise.
The community remains on edge, awaiting the next step in the process, as it’s expected that the suspects, once proven guilty, will face prosecution for their alleged involvement in the heinous crime.