The family of a 46-year-old man community leader identified as Kazeem Abegunrin who was reportedly killed by unknown gunmen in Okerinja village in Yewa South local government area of Ogun state has demanded for justice.
Abegunrin’s elder brother who doubled as the head of the family, Alhaji Dauda Ayinde disclosed that the deceased was allegedly murdered by some suspected hoodlums over a land dispute at the village.
Abegunrin was said to be the youth leader of the Okerinja village.
The head of family who spoke with newsmen in Abeokuta claimed Abegunrin was killed with toxic acid, while his body was dumped on the dispute land.
According to Ayinde, the deceased was last seen before his corpse was found around 4.55pm on the 28th of February, 2021 after the turbaning ceremony of the head of family as the Wakili Adeeni of Muslims in the village at the Okerinja Central Mosque.
Ayinde further said Abegunrin who was one of the people who always stand by him said he was going home to rest after the ceremony.
He added that he had also returned to his house in Abeokuta only to be told the second day that Kazeem was missing.
His words, “On the 28th of February, I was adorned as a Chief, the head of wakili Adeeni Muslims in Okinija, he is one of the people that used to stand with me, he is the head of youths in that area.
“When we were through with the Cheiftancy title celebration, he told me he was going to rest, he told me he was going and I told him goodbye that he can go, I also came back to Abeokuta where I live. It was after I got to Abeokuta that they called me that he was missing.
“I thought it was a joke until it got to the second day. On the second day I went back to our village and the searching for his whereabouts begin by going to lodge a complaint at the Owode police station”.
Abegunrin’s corpse was reportedly found days after on a bush path at the dispute land which according to Ayinde was brought there after he had been killed.
The deceased elder brother also explained that the dispute land is three plots of land which were sold by their fathers and uncles who are now dead.
Ayinde added that what was in the document in the hands of the new owner was record of the payments of two plots but they claimed they had bought the three plots
Ayinde said his brothers did not accept what the new owner of the land, a man simply called Megoro had said and that they had taken the matter to the office of the Divisional Police Officer in the area who settled it and ordered that both parties should not go back to the land again.
He however explained that their fathers and uncles had sold the land to an Igbo man, who later sold it to one Alhaja who later sold to this man called Megoro and that they had told Megoro and the Alhaja to produce the original buyer of the land, which is the Igbo man for clarifications.
His words “I asked them who they suspected that can do this kind of thing, they told me he was fighting over a land and that the other party had threatened his life and that of the whole family, I asked them who is the person
“Our fathers who sold the land, with my uncles are all died for years now, the land is three plot, when they brought the documents they saw two plots and he and the others said that they can take two plots for two plots, the two plots you bought is what you should stand on and they took the matter to the Police station in Owode in the office of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) there and the DPO was able to settle the matter.
“They said it there that my brothers with the person that said he bought three plots without record should not go to the land again.
“They sold the land to a man, they said he was powerful man, that he was an assassin they call him Megoro, the land that my father’s brothers sold was sold to an Igbo man, we told them to produce the Igbo man who bought the land initially, they couldn’t do that, they said it was the Igbo man that sold to one Alhaja, it was the Alhaja that sold it for this man called Megoro”.
According to family’s head, Meguro who he claimed was said to be a powerful man, that he was an assassin had threatened his brothers that “if they don’t allow him build on that land, they would become missing”.
According to Ayinde, after Kazeem’s body which have been doused with toxic acid was found, his corpse was taking to the mortuary by the family and police and that the case have now been transferred from the Divisional Police Headquarters in the area to the State Police Command in Eleweran Abeokuta for investigation.
Ayinde also said that the Baale of Okerinja, Rasak Olawumi, Alhaja Iya Wasiu have been arrested in connection to the case while the main suspect, Alhaji Megoro is on the run.
When contacted the Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the incident and said that an investigation has commenced.
Oyeyemi when asked if the man simply identified as Alhaji Megoro is the lead suspect in the case as alleged by the deceased elder brother ask this reporter to call him back as he was driving.
When called back Oyeyemi also asked this reporter to call him back as he was in a program.
Further attempts to reach him proved abortive as he did not pick his call as at the time of filing this report.
