The
police in Ogun State have arrested a tenant, identified simply as Abdullahi,
for allegedly killing his landlady, Raliat Olasupo, in the Ibafo area of the
state.
PUNCH
Metro learnt that Abdullahi slaughtered
the 85-year-old landlady with a knife during an altercation over N9,000, said
to be an amount the landlady was supposed to pay Abdullahi for a service
rendered.
Our
correspondent learnt that the service was the roofing of one of the rooms in
the house, which Abdullahi reportedly coordinated and demanded N9,000 from the
landlady.
It
was gathered that Olasupo, popularly called Iya Ibadan, had accused Abdullahi
of being a trouble maker, and had got the police to arrest the tenant and eject
him from the house.
However,
on Friday, Abdullahi allegedly sneaked into her landlady’s room at about 8pm,
and slaughtered her with a knife.
It
was learnt that other tenants and neighbours later found the woman in a pool of
blood.
The
matter was thereafter reported at the Ibafo Police Division, and Abdullahi was
arrested.
When
PUNCH Metro visited Akinpelu Street, where the woman lived, it was
learnt that Olasupo’s remains had been taken to Ibadan and buried by her
family.
A
tenant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Abdullahi, who had been with
the landlady for about four years, cut the woman’s neck with a knife and
staggered out, behaving like a drunken man.
He
said, “On Friday, we were sleeping when there was an alarm at about 10pm. All
of us rushed into the landlady’s room, and found her in a pool of blood. There
were knife cuts on her neck and other parts of her body. Abdullahi was still
around the area.
“Abdullahi
used to be a good friend of the landlady, but they fell out about two weeks
ago. There was an issue bordering on the roofing of one of the rooms in the
house, and Abdullahi was the one who coordinated the people who worked there.
“I
think the work was not properly done, and the man demanded N9,000 from the
landlady as payment for the work. So, they had a disagreement.
“Some
days ago, the landlady brought policemen from Ibafo to warn Abdullahi, and to
ask him to leave the house. His property was thrown out, and the landlady
warned him not to return to the house.”
The
tenant added that they were shocked when Abdullahi, who had threatened to deal
with the landlady, then showed up on Friday to attack the woman in her room.
A
resident in the area, identified as Akinlade, said Abdullahi had planned to
disguise out of the area, and escape police arrest.
He
said, “On that day, after returning from the landlady’s room and feigning that
he was drunk, he slipped into another tenant’s room and changed clothes. He was
about escaping when the other tenants caught him.
Olasupo’s
grandson, Olaide, told our correspondent that the landlady was taken to her
hometown in Ibadan for burial, adding that the Hausa community in Ibafo had
also met with the family on the incident.
He
said, “Mama has been buried already, and we do not want to interfere with the
police investigations. The man has been arrested, and he is in Ibafo Police
Division. The Seriki of the Hausa community in Ibafo has met with us.
“Abdullahi,
apart from the recent clash, had also at a time sold some of mama’s livestock,
and failed to remit the money. When she asked him to leave the house , he
threatened that he would kill the landlady, but we all thought it was a joke.”
The
Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the
incident.
The
police spokesman added that the matter had been transferred to the State
Department of Criminal Investigation, Abeokuta, for further investigation.
He
said, “The suspect is in our custody, and investigations are ongoing on the
matter. The matter is now with the SDCI, Abeokuta. When we conclude our
investigation, the suspect will definitely be charged to court.”
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