BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
The Police in Osun State have discovered the decomposing body of an aged landlord, Oladepo Asaolu, after about four days of disappearance.
It was gathered that Asaolu, an indigene of Ora-Igbomina, Ifedayo Local Government Area of Osun State, was the Babaloja of the ancient town.
The Point learnt that one of the tenants of Asaolu, allegedly sold him to some kidnappers at the rate of N1 million.
Asaolu was said to have been declared missing on October 5, 2022 after a motorcyclist came to his house in Ora-Igbomina around 5 am and took him to an unknown place.
The deceased was said to have informed neighbours that the unknown bike man was taking him to his farm before his corpse was found four days later in a bush.
An indigene of the ancient town, Seyi Adeniyi, had posted on his verified social media handles that Asaolu had been missing.
“Let me use this medium to bring to the notice of the Nigeria Police and Osun State Government that the whereabouts of Babaloja of Ora-Igbomina land, Oladepo Asaolu, is unknown since two days ago.
“According to investigation, on Wednesday 5th October 2022, a bike man came to his house in Ora-Igbomina around 5am to tell him that they were going to the farm. Up till now, he has not returned home.
“Efforts to reach him proved abortive as calls placed on his phone rang twice without any response, but later switched off.
“I call on the Nigeria Police, Osun State Command, to help us mobilise more men to the town. Ora-Igbomina is a town that shares boundaries with Kwara and Ekiti States,” the message read.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Adeniyi posted saying, “Few days ago, I made an announcement here concerning the whereabouts of Babaloja of Ora-Igbomina land, Chief Oladepo Asaolu.
“This afternoon (Sunday), I received a call from home that Babalola has been killed, his dead body was found today. The remains are about decomposing.
“Meanwhile, his abductors have been arrested; they are presently at the police net. What a sad day in Ora.”
When contacted on the telephone, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Yemisi Opalola, did not answer calls put across to her.
However, the Acting Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Kehinde Adeleke confirmed the incident saying that one of the arrested suspects is a tenant to the deceased.
According to Adeleke, the tenant had sold Asaolu to a group of kidnappers who later killed him.
She said the tenant, said to be an indigene of a neighbouring community known as Osan, had rented a shop in the front of Asaolu’s house and that he took the advantage of his closeness to the Babaloja and led him into the hands of abductors.
“It is true that the man’s decomposing corpse was found in the bush on Sunday. I gathered that his tenant, an indigene of Osan community, close to Ora-Igbomina, sold him to kidnappers at the rate of N1 million.
“The suspect was able to achieve this heinous crime because the man (Asaolu) already took him like a son and he rented the shop to him. The kidnappers might have killed the man to harvest his body parts,” she added.
