Detectives of the Nigerian Police, Ondo State Police Command, have arrested a 39-year-old fruit trader, Babalola Dolapo, for allegedly killing his 34-year-old childhood friend, Evangelist Opeyemi Oyelakin, to steal his motorcycle.
The suspect, who confessed to the crime, stated that he killed Oyelakin and discarded his body in a bush along Oke-Igbo Road in Oke-Igbo/Ile-Oluji Local Council of the state on March 15, after which he took the deceased’s motorcycle to Ibadan in Oyo State and sold it for N130,000.
With the family of the deceased disturbed by the whereabouts of the father of one, The Guardian gathered that a complaint was lodged, after which detectives swung into action and arrested Babalola at his residence in Ondo town, headquarters of the Ondo West Local Council of the state, after tracking the call logs of the deceased.
According to Dolapo, who claimed to be a fruit trader, he committed the crime along with one Sikiru Mutiu, who is at large.
He disclosed that he had been in the business of stealing motorcycles since 2021, with about 15 motorcycles already stolen within Ondo, Ekiti and Osun States.
The suspect said he used a stone and stick to hit the deceased after he was lured to accompany him to check out a piece of land in Oke-Igbo.
He said: “It’s the work of the devil; I can’t explain because this person that we are talking about is my close friend. Truly, his bike is not the first I will ever snatch, but I have never killed one before. Even those that are not related to me, I snatched bikes from them, and I did not even do anything harmful to them.
“At least, I have snatched about 15 bikes, but I have never killed anyone before. His own is the first. Buyer of the motorcycle is in Ibadan. But we sold this one at the rate of N130,000, and we shared the money equally because we are two in the business.”
Speaking to newsmen, State’s Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Oladipo, who led detectives and medical personnel to evacuate the decomposing body of the deceased from the pit where it was dumped in the bush expressed worries over the attitude of farmers in the area.
He frowned at the manner in which some farm owners within the area where Oyelakin was killed failed to alert the police despite the heavy stench that engulfed the area for days.
He said: “Through technical intelligence, the suspect was arrested, and upon the interrogation, he confessed to how the rider was engaged from Ondo town to take him and one other to a farm area in Oke-Igbo, and the rider, who incidentally happens to be his friend, brought him to this area where we are.
“I want to use this opportunity to alert the members of the public, most especially those who ride Okada, to be careful of the passengers that will engage their services in faraway areas and take them to isolated roads. At the moment, we are still investigating to apprehend all other offenders who are on the run.”
