By Deborah Nnamdi
Operatives of the Ondo State Police Command have apprehended a 34-year-old man for allegedly killing his 14-year-old son, Tope, over involvement in criminal activities at Ajowa Akoko, Akoko West Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The suspect, Monday Elela, who is a father of seven, allegedly buried his deceased son in a shallow grave under a banana tree in their home.
According to a statement by the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Wilfred Afolabi, on Sunday, Elela, a bricklayer and farmer in connivance with his wife, who is on the run, allegedly committed the crime to put a permanent stop to the embarrassment their deceased son had been bringing to the family.
The suspect, who was paraded along with some suspected criminals at the state headquarters of the Nigerian Police in Akure, the State capital said:
“Of my seven children, Tope has been the one giving us problems and causing embarrassment for the family. He always breaks into people’s houses. He is known around where we live, and he has been arrested many times by the police and Amotekun, but he won’t change.
“While he was in the custody of the Amotekun corps the last time he was arrested, he escaped from the cell. He broke the iron bars and jumped the fence to escape.After he escaped, we only spanked him with our hands for his wrongdoings and the embarrassment he had been causing us. But we didn’t realize that he was already injured while with the Amotekun people.
“After we spanked him, he ate his food, took his bath, and went to sleep. It was at daybreak that we instructed his younger brother to wake him so that we could all go to the farm. It was when he didn’t respond that we realized that he had died.
“I quickly rushed to where he was sleeping along with his mother, and we confirmed that he had already died. So, we took his body and buried it in our backyard. We didn’t kill him. He is number three among my children”.
The new Police Commissioner, who restated his commitment to the protection of lives and properties of the people in the state, urged the residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the police and other security agencies around them.
