For six hours, 19-year-old Rilwanu Akintunde was beaten,
handcuffed and locked inside a teargased room for
allegedly stealing N90,000.
His torturers were his mother, Mrs. Akintunde, her brother
Kayode and a policeman identified as Titus.
Rilwanu alias Rado denied collecting the money said to
belong to his mother, a hawker, but his attackers didn’t
believe him. Unable to bear the torture, the teenager
passed out and was rushed to Richland Hospital, Arepo,
where he was confirmed dead on Sunday evening.
His torturers secretly buried him at his mother’s site at
Sotel, not knowing that their action would draw the wrath
of the residents of Oriola Street, Ibafo and environs.
The youths in the area went berserk after discovering that
the money, for which Rilwanu was tortured to death, was
later found in his mother’s closet.
Wielding cutlasses, bottles sticks and fire, the mob, it was
gathered stormed Kayode’s residence; chased all the
tenants away and vandalized his properties.
Inscriptions such as “Rado was a good son born by a
stupid mother” were seen on the walls of the building
whose roofs, doors and windows have been destroyed.
When The Nation visited the Ogun communityTuesday,
residents were clamouring for jungle justice to all the
culprits.
It was gathered that Kayode and his police friend Titus
have since fled the neighbourhood, while the deceased’s
mother and Kayode’s wife were arrested by policemen
from Ibafo Division, who visited the place Tuesday.
According to residents, Rilwanu’s killers might have had
another motive for their action because the teenager was
neither a thief nor troublesome.
His friends, it was gathered produced an obituary for him,
which they pasted not far from the community mosque.
The deceased’s wife, Damilola Owoigbe, who had their
eight-month-old son on her arms, demanded justice
against his killers.
She said: “I want all those responsible for my husband’s
death to be arrested and jailed for life. They killed him for
nothing. Rado was never a thief.
Everyone in Ibafo love him. He was a peaceful person. He
was an apprentice at a tailoring shop because he wanted
to make life better for us and for his two siblings.
“Their father is dead. Their mother sells bottled water in
traffic. She was the one who went and told her brother on
Sunday morning that Rilwanu stole her N90, 000. Then,
her brother, Kayode sent his wife to call his police friend,
Titus and they all tortured him to death.
“I was not there. I was in my mother’s house. But I was
told that the policeman brought handcuffs and teargas,
which they used on him. I was also told that blood was all
over his body. Now, I am confused because I don’t know
who would take care of our son.”
A source who refused to be named told The Nation that
the said policeman works at Area G Command, Ogba,
Lagos.
Contacted, the Ogun command spokesman, Abimbola
Oyeyemi confirmed the incident, but said he was unaware
if Titus was a policeman.
He said: “The information I got is that the woman, the
boy’s stepfather and his friend tortured him to death.
They said the woman complained that her N90,000 was
missing and she accused her son. Then, she told the
boy’s stepfather, who sent his wife to contact a friend of
his. They all tortured the boy to death and secretly buried
him. The woman later saw the money
“At the moment, the two men involved are on the run but
the women have been arrested. They have been
transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal
Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID). The
Police Commissioner Ahmed Iliyasu has ordered that the
fleeing suspects be arrested.
“I am not aware that one of them is a policeman. But be
assured that they will be fished out and dealt in
accordance with the law.”
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