Kehinde, one of the sons of Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, has disclosed that some policemen told him that suspected herdsmen carried out the attack which led to the death of his sister, Funke Olakurin.
Olakunrin, 58, was murdered along Benin-Ore highway while returning to Lagos after visiting her father in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Friday.
Yinka Odumakin, spokesman of Afenifere, had blamed the incident on suspected herdsmen but the police said bandits were responsible for the attack.
When he visited the residence of Fasoranti to commiserate with the family, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Undie Adie, said the identity of the killers had not been established.
“All we know is that these are bandits that came to the road and started firing sporadically at motorists that were driving on the highway. That is what it is; there is no person that can say specifically that they were herdsmen. What we know is that they are bandits and we are going after them,” he said.
But Kehinde, who recovered the corpse of his late sister from Ore, told journalists that some police officers he met at Ore police station confirmed to him that the late Olakurin was killed by herdsmen.
“We need to get the story straight. The way they operated, according to what the police said, is the way herdsmen operate,” he said.
“Six people were in front shooting at them. The driver put the car in reverse but unknown to him, some men were in the bush and started shooting from the side and at the back. The story that these are just bandits is a lie. If you want records, request the report I made at the Ore police station. They categorically said the attackers were herdsmen.”
The death of Olakunrin has once again raised concern about the high level of insecurity in the country.
…Tinubu exonerates herdsmen, asks is Evans herdsman?
The national of leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu has stated that those blaming herdsmen for the death of Funke Olakurin, daughter of Chief Reuben Fasoranti do not have evidence.
Speaking when he paid a condolence visit to the family of Fasoranti in Akure, Ondo State capital, Tinubu said kidnapping is not peculiar to any ethnic group or a particular set of people.
Asked to react to the allegation that herdsmen were behind the attack, he said: “I am extremely concerned about security but I don’t want stigma. I can go through history of kidnapping and we know how it started, where it all started, there are lots of copycats, how many years ago have we faced insecurity in this country and cases of kidnapping? Is Evans a herdsman?”
Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, suspected kidnapper better known as Evans, was arrested by the police in 2017. He is still under trial.
…Ohaneze warns FG not to absolve group
Apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has said the murder of Funke Olakunrin, daughter of Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, is capable of throwing the country into anarchy.
Olakunrin, 58, was heading to Lagos from Akure, Ondo state capital, when suspected kidnappers targeted her vehicle. In an attempt to escape, the attackers fired at her, and she died while being taken to the hospital.
In a statement signed by President General of Ohaneze, Nnia Nwodo, the group said the inability of security forces to bring the criminals to book is becoming worrying.
He also said the position of the federal government that robbers, not herdsmen killed her, has worsened a tensed situation.
“The continuous rampaging, plunder, rape, kidnapping and murder of innocent Nigerians by armed Fulani herdsmen has climbed to a most worrisome crescendo,” the statement read.
“The inability of our security forces to disarm and prosecute these criminals gives credibility to a growing story of collusion.
“Recently, the British high commission in an advisory to British citizens in Nigeria declared 24 of our states unsafe. In the midst of these killings, their parent organisation has the effrontery to give ultimatums to the president of Nigeria to rescind his unpopular suspension, instead of cancellation of his RUGA development policy.
“Such inciting, provocative and treasonable outbursts have only been greeted by an advice that they should respect the Presidency and an unrelenting resolve to force Nigerians to accommodate such murderers in their homes under a policy that violates our constitution and all laws and court judgments relating to land use administration.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo warns that this latest murder is capable of throwing our country into uncontrollable break down of law and order. The hasty conclusion by the federal government that she was killed by armed robbers and not the suspected herdsmen who are known to have laid siege on all parts of the country perpetrating acts of banditry and killings further exacerbates the already tense situation.”
Offering their condolences to the Fasoranti family, the group called on eminent leaders, in spite of their political persuasions, to come together in an urgent national security conference to discuss measures that will arrest the extant drift to lawlessness.
…we’ll ensure scale-up Nigeria’s security – Osinbajo
The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday said that the Federal Government was doing everything possible to improve the nation’s security architecture to ensure the protection of lives and property.
Osinbajo stated this in Akure when he visited Reuben Fasoranti, Afenifere’s leader, to sympathise with him over the death of his daughter, Funke Olakunrin.
“We are looking at the whole security architecture and trying to scale up and ensure that we are able to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians.
“Security in a big country like Nigeria, as you can imagine the challenge, is dynamic and we also have to be consistently dynamic to ensure that we are able to beat the challenges as they appear,’’ he said.
It was reported that the late Mrs Olakunrin was shot on Friday by gunmen in Ore, headquarters of Odigbo Local Government Area, Ondo State.
The vice president, who spoke with journalists in Akure at the residence of Fasoranti, described the incident as tragic while reiterating the importance of community policing system and intelligence gathering in securing the country.
Osinbajo recalled how President Muhammadu Buhari recently met the service chiefs and the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mohammed Adamu, during which the latter laid out a new policy of the community policing.
“One of the most important things in this sort of crime, because they are largely economic crimes, is that people try to make money by kidnapping.
‘‘Another important thing is intelligence gathering; that is why we have the community policing system where policemen would be trained in their own local governments and they would remain there.”
The vice president explained further that the Inspector-General of Police had already committed to ensuring that there was full coverage of the police and even helicopters.
Dignitaries at the residence include the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State; Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser to the President on Political matters and Bisi Akande, former Osun Governor and APC stalwart.
