Residents of the Labinkulu community in Moniya, Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State, mourn after a 24-year-old man, Abass Olalere, was reportedly killed by a 12-man gang. According to Vanguard, the gang broke into his house around 9:48 pm on Saturday and butchered him in front of his wife and three-month-old son. The community was tense yesterday, with people gathering in groups to discuss the tragic incident.
Omolayo Olalere, wife of the deceased, Mr Abass who spoke with newsmen said:
“We were together outside around 9:48pm when they suddenly invaded our house. I don’t know them and my late husband had no misunderstanding with anybody before he died.”
“When they came in, we quickly rushed inside the house and locked everywhere but they broke the door and destroyed our windows to gain access.”
“Before they gained entrance, one of my senior wives who was outside was mercilessly beaten and almost killed. When they came inside, they told my husband to cooperate with them by laying down on the table in the parlor.”“As he did that, they started using different weapons such as dagger, axe, knife, broken bottles, cutlasses to hit him including charms to ensure that he didn’t survive it.”
“They were 12 in number and three of them covered their faces. They used masks so as not to identify them.”
“After they left, we quickly rushed him to the Cureland hospital at Moniya where they later referred us to another place. But he eventually gave up the ghost yesterday. The case has been reported to the Divisional Police Station, Moniya,” she said.
Jelili Olalere, the father of the deceased, expressed his confusion over the incident, noting that his son was a quiet person. He described his shock, explaining that a group of men broke into their home, destroyed their property, and used charms and weapons to kill his son.
The matter has been reported to the police at Moniya Divisional Police Station, and the body has been taken to the morgue at Adeoyo Hospital, Ring Road, Ibadan. Attempts to reach the state Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, were unsuccessful as his phone was unreachable.