A 19-year-old boy named Rilwanu Akintunde is dead after he was beaten, handcuffed and locked inside a teargased room for six hours, for allegedly stealing N90,000.
His torturers were his mother, Mrs. Akintunde, her brother Kayode and a policeman identified as Titus. Rilwanu alias Rado had 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 after the money, for which Rilwanu was tortured to death, was later found in his mother’s closet.
Wielding cutlasses, bottles sticks and fire, the youths in the area went berserk, 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 community Tuesday, residents were clamouring for jungle justice to all the culprits.
Kayode and his police friend Titus 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.
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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