A 49-year-old mother, Mrs Monsurat Alimi, has alleged that operatives of Amotekun in Ogun State killed her son, Tunde Olutayo, and labeled him a cultist.
The bereaved mother told newsmen in Abeokuta, the state capital, on Sunday, that after death of her son, she saw a picture of his corpse on Facebook tagged cultist and armed robber.
It was alleged that, on penultimate Saturday, operatives of the local security outfit allegedly invaded the victim’s compound in Sokori, Abeokuta and shot him after he tried to escape.
The Amotekun Corps in the state had on Saturday, issued a statement titled, “Death of notorious Eiye cultist and armed robber”, claiming that Olutayo and his gang engaged the corps in a gun duel which led to his death.
The commander of the corps, David Akinremi, who is a retired Commissioner of Police, said his men received a distress call on the presence of a group of Eye cultists who attacked and robbed some residents along Sokori Street, Abeokuta.
Akinremi said, on getting to the place, his operatives engaged the hoodlums who had snatched valuables such as telephone handsets, money among others.
He said “during this encounter, one Olutayo Tunde a.k.a. Badoo, aged 30 years who is the leader of this group which had previously been involved in Cult killings, armed robberies and other sundry crimes in Abeokuta Metro fired at the operatives and in a swift response, he was shot on the arm in an attempt to disarm him.
“The suspect immediately ran into the nearby bush along with his other cohorts, dropping a locally made pistol which was recovered by the operatives.
“A painstaking search was conducted in the bush where he escaped, during which he was arrested while others escaped.
“He was immediately taken to Ijaye General Hospital for treatment so as to be able to extract useful information from him in respect of his and other members’ involvement in previous cult, related killings, armed robberies and other related crimes in Abeokuta Metro in recent times but was confirmed dead shortly on arrival at the said hospital.
“His death was sad as his being alive would have avail security agencies veritable information that would have helped in stemming the tides of this menace.”
But the mother faulted the claim by the Amotekun Boss, saying her son was a vulcaniser and neither a cultist nor an armed robber.
While speaking on the incident on Sunday, Mrs Alimi said, “It was on Saturday when they called me and said he was at the junction of his workshop and that was where they apprehended him.
“They said he was shot by the Amotekun , the moment he tried to escape from the riverbank. When I got to the place where he was shot, all those that were present said he knew nothing about what he was apprehended for.”
Olutayo’s mother also expressed concern that her son’s corpse had not been released.
Demanding a thorough probe that would ensure justice on the murder of her son, she said, “We urge the government to help ask the Amotekun to release to us his dead body. He is not a cultist. They did not inform us that he had been killed, it was on Facebook that we saw it.
“We want the government to find out what led to the killing of my son . Please help me , they want to cheat me. They want to use power to cheat me . They killed my son and seized his corpse.” (Daily Trust)
