From road crashes to murders: how killings rocked Ondo Varsity

By Boye Oyeyemi –

The usual tranquil and aesthetic ambience of Akungba-Akoko in the Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State has been egregiously flawed by the recent killings of students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, AAUA.

The agrarian community had experienced devastating road accidents that took the lives of students and indigenes in the past.

To stop the persistent loss of lives, the erstwhile Governor of the State, the late Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN, erected barricades to prevent heavy-duty trucks plying the densely populated community.

The action of the state government had put a mark of finality on the incessant accident, a step applauded by many stakeholders of the community.

However, killings resumed in another dimension when two students, Andrel Okah of the Department of History and International Studies in the Faculty of Arts and John Abba of the Department of Economics in the Faculty of Agriculture, reportedly went missing. Their colleagues observed they had not been attending for over two weeks and consequently raised the alarm to draw attention to their disappearance.

However, the lifeless bodies of the two undergraduates were later found in a forest at the border between the state and Ekiti State.

The President of the institution’s Students Union Government (SUG), Akeem Ologbon, in a statement had described the news of the death of the students as painful, adding that it caused deep sorrow across the entire academic community.

Mr Ologbon said when the union became aware of the disappearance of the students, it acted with urgency and responsibility by engaging immediately with the appropriate security agencies to ensure they were found.

The police, however, arrested the landlord, Femi Oladele, who housed the victim and two others, for kidnapping and murder of the two students.

The State Commissioner of Police, Mr Adebowale Lawal, also said that the landlord had confessed to initiating the plot and aiding in the concealment of the murders.

In what appears to be divine retribution, the police later confirmed the death of the landlord who allegedly masterminded the murder of two students.

DSP Olushola Ayanlade, the command’s spokesperson, while confirming the death of Femi to newsmen, said he died in the hospital.

Ayanlade explained that the suspect had been receiving treatment since he was arrested and confessed to the crime after developing a strange illness.

The killings also took the life of Joy Adeyemi, a student of the Department of Human Kinetics.

Adeyemi, who had earlier been declared missing by her course mates, was later found dead in a decomposed state inside a one-room apartment near the campus.

The discovery triggered anger among her colleagues, who stormed the streets in protest.

The students blocked major roads, alleging that the victim was stabbed to death by her boyfriend, who is now on the run.

Carrying placards with inscriptions such as “AAUA students are not goats to indigenes”, “Stop killing us”, and “We are here to study, not to die”, the protesters accused residents of the host community of being behind repeated attacks on students.

One of the protesters, who identified himself as Kunle, said some neighbours discovered the remains of Ms Adeyemi after perceiving a foul odour coming from the building.

A student who identified himself as Samuel briefly said, “The government should save us from the hands of indigenes; we are here to learn.”

Proffering a solution to the menace, a security expert who preferred anonymity told WESTERN POST that “the killings in the university community are unfortunate and painful.

“As an expert, I believe it is high time a police post was established in the area, with constant patrols by the police, army, and Amotekun.

“The community should also do more by reporting criminal elements among the indigenes to the police. Likewise, students must be cautious and take proper cognisance of the houses they choose to rent.”