New Telegraph

A Mother’s Agony: I watched helpless as my son was lynched

Critical stakeholders in Ondo State have expressed worry over the high rate at which jungle justice was being meted out on those arrested for various offences especially suspected ritualists.

The jungle justice started recently with lynching of lunatics who were accused of pretending about their state of mind in order to kidnap for ritual purposes. Not less than 10 known lunatics were burnt to death in different parts of the state for allegedly being ritualists. Temitope Olorunfemi is the latest to be lynched for allegedly being in possession of fetish objects after his car was ransacked after an acci- dent led to the untimely death of the young man.

Temitope was involved in a fatal auto crash that occurred at Ijoka Area of Akure, the State capital. He was driving a Toyota car along the road and suddenly skidded off its lane to crush the victims who were on commercial motorcycles also known as Okada and tricycles.

An Okada rider, who gave his name as Tunji, said that the driver had rammed into a commercial motor- cyclist and his passenger at the Ijo Mimo Bus stop but refused to stop, and in the bid to escape, crushed three others on motorcycles and a tricycle.

Tunji said: “On his way to the Sunday Bus stop, the driver, who did not sustain any injury, was trying to escape from the scene before he was caught by some youths, most of whom were Okada riders, who descended on him.”

He said it was some of the sympathisers who rushed to the scene to rescue the driver that found some fetish items inside the vehicle, raising suspicion that the driver was a ‘Yahoo Boy’. The sympathisers, who were angered by what they saw in the car, descended on the driver and beat him to a point of unconsciousness.

However, the mob later stoned the driver to death and set his vehicle ablaze.

Distraught mother, wife speak

The mother and wife of the deceased, Mrs Olorunfemi Mojisola and Mosunmola Bosede insisted the deceased was not an internet fraudster.

The mother said her son was a graduate of the Merchant Navy School in Ogun State and had settled in Lagos State. She said his father was wealthy enough to have been able to have bought a car for her and her late son. While she drives hers for pleasure, Temitope uses his for commercial purposes.

“His father bought him a vehicle about three years ago. And he began as an Uber driver. And his wife is here with me in Akure. They came to Akure from Lagos for the Easter celebration. When he arrived I noticed he was emaciated. When I asked him, he said the Lagos stress was just too much for him. Later his wife told him they should return to Lagos but he said he still wanted to stay behind and was not ready to travel.

“On Monday morning, it was his father that called me and said they were beating our son (Tope), by the time I rushed down there. I have met him in a pool of blood. The mob had descended on him. I was shouting for help. His siblings, Oyindamola and Tosin Olorunfemi were there with me. But the mob resisted me and they also hit me with a plank. They barred me from rescuing my son. I wanted to take him to hospital but they hit me with planks. One of them poured petrol on him and set him on fire. It was at that point that I lost hope and I left the scene.

“All what they claimed to have found in- side my son’s vehicle were tissues of lies. The piggy bank that was found inside his car belongs to his wife and not a casket as was reported. The clothes found inside his car were the ones belonging to his wife and child. My son has been a hustler since his childhood. He had engaged in many menial jobs like bricklaying before he grew up to start doing this driving job.”

Corroborating the position of the mother, Mosunmola, the deceased wife said the late husband was to return to Lagos where he was working as a driver. She said the piggy bank, utensils and women’s clothes found in the vehicle belonged to her. She said the killers of her husband should be made to face the full wrath of law.

Police React

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Fumilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, who confirmed the incident, however, stated that only two people died in the accident. The PPRO said there was no confirma- tion if Olorunfemi was a fraudster or not but that there was an accident that led to the death of a motorcyclist.

Odunlami- Omisanya in a statement said: “No one can confirm if the young man in question is an internet fraudster, there was an accident that led to the death of a motorcyclist, rather than people around to help, some resolved to jungle justice by killing the young man Olorunfemi Tope aged 25 who drove the vehicle and set the car ablaze but for the quick intervention of the police, his parents too would have been killed. “In all, two people are confirmed dead while six others involved and injured in the accident are currently in the hospital.”

Youth advocate writes govt

A youth advocate, Mr Yemi Fasipe in an open letter to the Acting Governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa blamed commercial motorcyclists for the upsurge of jungle justice in the state. Fasipe in his letter said: “This letter is worrisomely informed by the proclivity of commercial motorcycle riders in resorting to mob action whenever the least accident occurs between them and motorists. The lynching of 25-year-old Tope Olorunfemi in the Ijoka area of Akure on Sunday, April 10, 2023, underscored the security threat that Okada riders pose to innocent vehicle owners and successful youthful entrepreneurs across the Sunshine State.

“I will like to sincerely sympathise with the family of the hapless Okada rider that was unfortunately crushed to death albeit unintentionally by the late Tope Olorunfemi. It is my solemn prayer that the good Lord shall comfort the family of the deceased Okada rider and also rest his departed soul in peace.

“The accidental crushing of the Okada rider by the late Tope is truly painful; it is, however, condemnable that the other Okada riders chose to take the law into their hands by killing the driver of the vehicle that crushed one of their colleagues to death. Two wrongs do not and can never make a right. Since Ondo State is not a banana republic, what the riders ought to have done was to have apprehended and hand over the driver to the police. “Sadly, the young man was barbarically stoned and clubbed to death right in the presence of his parents by these jungle justice-inclined Okada riders. There had been incidents in the state whereby innocent motorists had escaped death by whiskers in the hands of Okada riders even for mistakenly hitting one of them. Since Okada riders and motorists use the same road, it is unlikely that accidents could be totally avoided.

Even when most of the Okada riders are known for their reckless manner of riding, they still expect motorists not to ever come near them on all the roads across Ondo State. “I have deeply observed that the root causes of hatred between Okada riders and motorists in Ondo State are basically poverty and frustration. While I am not unmindful that we have a handful of youthful motorists in the state that are in the habit of reckless driving; the Okada riders should have allowed the law to take its cause whenever an accident occurs in any part of Ondo State. More so, this category of reckless motorists should be reoriented and cautioned through radio and social media sensitisation. “Regrettably, the preposterous mindset and perception of nearly all the commercial motorcyclists in Ondo State are that all the successful youths in Ondo State are ritualists. It was this same mindset that propelled the Okada riders to brutally snuff life out of Tope Olorunfemi.

Painfully, one of the Okada riders was caught on video telling his fellow Okada riders at the lynching scene that any young man that wears an outfit that is worth N150, 000 must be a ritualist. “This mindset of the Okada riders in- deed spoke volumes on their unfounded claim that the lynched young man was a ritualist. All the claims that fetish items were found in his eventually burnt car could not be substantiated with pictorial or video evidence. After all, the lynched Tope Olorunfemi was only rushing down to his parent’s house to settle a fight between them. Even if not for the timely intervention of the police, the disputing parents of late Tope Olorunfemi that rushed down to the scene were almost lynched by these same commercial motorcyclists.

“I will strongly advise that all the killers of late Tope Olorunfemi should all be fished out and diligently prosecuted to serve as deterrence to other bloodthirsty Okada riders in the Sunshine State. Also, the leadership of the Okada union across Ondo State must be made to sign fresh undertakings that their members will no longer resort to mob action whenever an Okada-motorist accident occurs in any part of the state.”

Govt’s reaction

Similarly, the state government in a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju ex- pressed worry over the high rate of jungle justice and cautioned the people against taking laws into their hands. The government said the situation where people resort to jungle justice on one flimsy excuse or the other, especially on allegations of Internet scam, laced with ritual killing, commonly referred to as Yahoo Plus is worrisome. She said citizens are attacked, and killed, based on these allegations.

She said: “Hon. Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa has expressed shock and dis- belief, on the recent mob attack that led to the stoning to death of 35-year old Tope Olorunfemi at Ijoka Area of Akure. The young man, riding in a Toyota car, reportedly ran into a motorcyclist and his passenger, resulting in some fatalities. The government condemns in strong terms the incident and said all those found culpable will be made to face the full wrath of law. While the government does not condone criminality in whatever guise, it also does not subscribe to people taking laws into their own hands. It was reported that the quick intervention of law enforcement agents saved the parents of the deceased from suffering the same fate as their son.

“Sadly, they watched in horror and total helplessness as their son was pummeled to death. Hon. Ayedatiwa urges Ondo State citizens to have trust in the rule of law, as the government will not condone any form of mob action and hooliganism in the adminis- tration of Justice in Ondo State. The govern- ment is saddened by this development and commiserates with all the families that lost their loved ones as a result of this incident while praying for quick recovery for those that sustained injuries.”

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