Benue indigene, others arrested for setting community leader ablaze in Ekiti

The Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State command, Amba Asuquo has paraded a four -man gang, suspected to be the  killers of  a community leader, Shola Fatunla .

The CP also exhibited the  items recovered from the scene of the dastardly act.

Chief Fatunla, 35, who until his death on April 5, was a community leader at Onibedo of Ilotin area in Ikole-Ekiti, Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, had been accused of snatching Tadeni, wife of one of the suspects identified as Sunday Aernan, the leader of the gang.

Sunday had apologised to   Fatunla, once he got to know that  Fatunla and his wife (Tadeni) were mere family friends. The marriage of Sunday and Tadeni, though, has collapsed, however, was blessed with two kids.

In a press release on Saturday, by the  Commissioner of police, Amba Asuquo, through the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, and made available to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, he described the case as conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and murder.

The statement reads: “On April 5,  about 12 am,  Sunday Aernan, male, 30, an indigene of Benue State, but resides in Ikole-Ekiti invited   Fatunla Shola, 35 , of Ikole-Ekiti ,and  Adebo Tadeni, female, 35, of Ikole-Ekiti to come and help him settle a dispute between himself, Sunday, and an unidentified Igbira man in his farm at Itapaji farm settlement, Ikole-Ekiti.

“On arrival at the farm, Sunday Aernan, who had already arranged three  of his gang members and informed them of his intention to kill Chief Fatunla Shola, immediately called them out of the bush where they were hiding and waiting for   Fatunla. Sunday Aernan then instructed them to apprehend both the chief and Adebo Tadeni, which they did.  Aernan and his three accomplices;  Jonathan Elijah ‘19, Aoufa Sule Obasanjo, 24 and Moses Iornal 24, bound their feet and hands.

“According to their confessional statements obtained, they tortured the Fatunla with sticks and bottles and thereafter, tied him to a tree. They also took Adebo Tadeni to another location and tied her to a tree there.

“Sunday and his accomplices, returned to Fatunla , set him ablaze and watched him burn to death.

“Thereafter, they returned to where they had earlier tied  Tadeni, but did not find her, because according to her statement, she was able to use her teeth to untie herself and then ran away.”