5 In Police Net Over ‘Oko Oloyun’s Murder
Operatives of the Nigeria Police on Friday said they have arrested five people in connection with the murder of the renowned alternative therapist, Alhaji Fatai Yussuf a.k.a ‘Oko Oloyun in Oyo State.
According to him, they are being questioned by a team of crack detectives from the homicide section of State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID Iyaganku, Ibadan with a view to apprehending the fleeing suspects who carried out the heinous act.
The deceased was on Thursday shot dead by gunmen on the Eruwa-Igboora Road in the Ibarapa area of Oyo State on his way from an outing around 4.30 pm when the gunmen shot at his vehicle.
The Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Gbenga Fadeyi, who confirmed the incident, said the state Commissioner of Police, Shina Olukolu, had visited the scene and ordered an investigation into the incident.
He added that Yusuf’s corpse had been deposited in the Igbo-Ora General Hospital’s mortuary.
Fadeyi said, “Gunmen attacked his vehicle on the Eruwa-Igboora Road in Ibarapa Central; they shot at his vehicle and he was hit by a bullet. Police personnel were immediately mobilised to the area and the Commissioner of Police has gone to the scene of the attack for an on-the-spot assessment and has deployed the police tactical team to trail the hoodlums and comb the area for possible arrest and prosecution”.
The police boss said the two cars convoy of the deceased was allegedly ambushed shortly after passing through five different Police Stop and Search teams along the route by yet to be identified assailants who fired at the moving vehicles on the road from the thick forest.
Olukolu explained that the two-man armed escorts of policemen protecting the deceased engaged the assailants, but they managed to escape back into the forest after a single shot had hit the deceased who died later of his bullet injuries.
According to him, an interesting twist to the story was that the deceased probably had earlier detected an alleged bookkeeping records fraud in his Lagos office which subsequently allegedly led to the burning, destruction of some financial, bookkeeping records.
He said in addition to other possible motives, a plausible nexus was, therefore, being suspected between the fire incident and the attack on the deceased.
The Commissioner of Police, therefore, appealed to any member of the public with credible information not to hesitate in passing same to the Oyo State Police Command to assist in the detection of the crime and apprehension of the offenders.
He also assured members of the public that the police was on top of the situation and working with other police formations/units to ensure that the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A. Adamu to crack this case as quickly as possible is complied with to the letter.
