The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a man identified simply as Adebiri for allegedly killing a Benue State University graduate, Oje Ejeh, who worked as a housekeeper for a Lagos-based real estate company.
PUNCH Metro learnt from the deceased’s brother, Alexander Oluji, on Wednesday that the incident occurred on August 26 at the Bluestone Treasure Estate in the Mowe-Ofada area of Ogun State.
Oluji told our correspondent in a telephone interview that Ejeh, popularly known as Mike, had gone to one of the properties he was employed to maintain ahead of an inspection by prospective buyers.
According to him, Ejeh was well known to residents of the estate because of his regular visits to clean and prepare the property for prospective clients.
He said Ejeh had been informed that some prospective buyers would visit the property and had gone there ahead of their arrival.
Oluji said, “My brother worked with an estate agent and was employed as a housekeeper. He was in charge of the property and some land in the estate. Whenever prospective clients wanted to inspect the property, he would go there, clean it and show them around.
“On the day of the incident, he told me that some people were coming to inspect one of the properties. So, he went there and called me to say that he had arrived and would wait for them.
“He said that when they came, he would show them the property and leave the discussion about the money to his boss and the clients.
“When he got there, the clients had not arrived. While waiting for them, he was playing with the four-year-old son of a man who owned a property beside the one my brother was looking after.”
Oluji said the boy’s older brother later went inside to inform their father that the younger child was playing with Ejeh.
He explained that Ejeh subsequently put the child down and went into the apartment to clean it, adding that the suspect allegedly attacked him with a bamboo stick when he came outside.
He said, “As soon as my brother returned outside, the suspect picked up a bamboo stick and hit him on the head, causing him to fall to the ground. He was rushed to the hospital, but the hospital confirmed that he was dead.
“The suspect ran away after the incident, while people in the area rushed to the scene. Some people wanted to burn his house, but others stopped them, saying he was not the owner of the house and that there was no point in destroying the property.”
Oluji said the suspect’s wife was also arrested before Adebiri was eventually apprehended, adding that the police intervened to prevent angry residents from attacking him.
He said Ejeh was known to residents of the area, including the suspect’s wife, because of his work at the property.
“Everyone in the area knew that my brother worked at that house. Even the suspect’s wife knew him and knew that he was the person in charge of the property.
“My brother had just finished from the Benue State University, where he studied French. He was working hard to make a living after graduating.
That is why we are concerned about the circumstances surrounding his death and want justice for him,” he added.
Contacted for details of the incident and the arrest on Wednesday, the Ogun State Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Oluseyi Babaseyi, confirmed the incident in a WhatsApp message.
He stated that the suspect had been arrested and that the command was investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.
Babaseyi stated, “The command is very much aware of this case and the suspect has been arrested, while investigation is currently ongoing to ascertain the facts of the case for possible prosecution.”
PUNCH Metro reported on Monday that an ex-convict allegedly stabbed his colleague, identified simply as Dada, to death following an argument in Akute, Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, reportedly threw the community into panic, with shop owners hurriedly closing their stores and fleeing the area.
Credit: punchng.com
