Killers

  An Ogun State High Court sitting in Kobape, Abeokuta, the state capital, on Monday sentenced Lekan Adekanbi, Ahmed Odetola, and Waheed Adeniyi to death by hanging for the murder of Kehinde Fatinoye, his wife, Bukola Fatinoye, and their son, Oreoluwa, on January 1, 2023. The couple was attacked at their Ibara GRA residence shortly after returning from a crossover service. Led by their driver, Adekanbi, the assailants invaded their home at about 2am, killing them before setting the house and their bodies on fire. They also tied up their son, Oreoluwa, and an adopted son before throwing them into the Ogun River. Oreoluwa did not survive, but the adopted son miraculously escaped. During an interview with journalists in February 2023, Adekanbi confessed that he orchestrated the attack because the Fatinoyes refused to increase his salary or grant him a loan. “I took the step because the couple refused to increase my salary, and when I approached them for a loan to buy a motorcycle, they didn’t oblige,” he admitted. He revealed that he invited two accomplices, Odetola and Adeniyi, to help him rob the couple. “The three of us waited for the couple until they came back from the crossover service. We pounced on them immediately after they entered the house,” he said. According to him, they forced Kehinde Fatinoye to transfer N1,102,000 to his Access Bank account at gunpoint after a previous transfer attempt to Odetola’s Kuda Bank account failed. “When I realised that my identity had been exposed through my bank account, I decided with others to terminate the lives of the couple,” he confessed. Adeniyi then used a knife to slaughter Kehinde Fatinoye, while Adekanbi struck Bukola Fatinoye on the head with a sledgehammer, killing her instantly. When the couple’s son, Oreoluwa, and their adopted son, Felix Olorunyomi, walked in, the criminals tied them up and threw them into the Ogun River. Felix managed to escape. The Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, recounted how Adekanbi initially escaped from custody after faking an illness. “The suspect, Lekan Adekanbi, suddenly collapsed in the cell on January 2, 2023, and was rushed to the hospital for medical care. But while receiving treatment, he suddenly jumped from the bed and escaped through the hospital fence,” Oyeyemi said. Following a technical and intelligence-driven investigation, police tracked him to his brother’s house in Iseyin, Oyo State. Although he had fled before officers arrived, he was later arrested in Abeokuta on January 21, 2023. His accomplices, Odetola and Adeniyi, were arrested in Ogere on February 9, 2023. “The three suspects, who are members of the Aiye confraternity, have all confessed to their roles in the gruesome and callous murder of the family,” Oyeyemi stated. Adekanbi, Odetola, and Adeniyi, along with six others, were charged with 24 counts, including conspiracy to commit armed robbery, murder, arson, and perverting the course of justice. They pleaded not guilty. Delivering her judgment, Justice Basirat Adebowale ruled, “The trio of Adekanbi, Odetola, and Adeniyi are guilty of nine counts because the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.” Adebowale sentenced them to death by hanging. “You, Adekanbi, Odetola, and Adeniyi, for killing a father, mother, and son, do not deserve mercy. You are hereby sentenced to be hanged by the neck until you are dead or by lethal injection. May God have mercy on your souls,” she declared. Other sentences included: Temitope Fadairo (Adekanbi’s wife) to two years imprisonment for hiding her husband, Adenike Adekanbi (Adekanbi’s mother) to one-year imprisonment for providing false statements to the police, Azeez Usman (the welder who dismantled the stolen vehicle) to 14 years imprisonment for receiving stolen property, plus additional sentences to run concurrently, Anuoluwapo Owolaja to two years imprisonment, Abass Odetola and Lukmon Adewusi were discharged of all charges. During the trial, Chief State Counsel, Adefisoye Temilola, told the court that the trio committed the crime at Karounwi Street, Ibara Housing Estate, Abeokuta. “The defendants, while armed with a gun, hammer, and cutlass, robbed Mr. Fatinoye of N1.102 million and a Hyundai vehicle worth N12 million. They also robbed Mrs. Bukola Fatinoye of her phones valued at N1 million,” Temilola said. After robbing the couple, Adeniyi used a knife to slaughter Kehinde Fatinoye, while Adekanbi struck Bukola on the head with a sledgehammer. “They set the house ablaze and killed their only son, Oreoluwa, by tying his hands and legs and throwing him into the Ogun River, leading to his death,” she concluded.