A 34-year-old man, Arogundade Ahmed, has
been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly flogging
his son to death.
According to eyewitnesses, Arogundade
tortured his 13-year-old son, Qudus, to death because Qudus broke into
someone’s house and attempted to steal.
Arogundade was said to have killed his son in the presence of his little sister, Sherifat.
It was learnt that after killing the boy, Arogundade dug a grave and buried him in front of his house in Alogba Estate area of Ikorodu
Our correspondent, who visited the crime scene, learnt that the incident occurred on June 27, 2013.
It was leant that the deceased was an apprentice at a mechanic workshop in the area.
A senior police officer at Ipakodo
Police Division, who craved anonymity, said, “We were told that on the
said date, Qudus broke into the house of one Apoti Lateef and attempted
to steal. Lateef raised the alarm, accosted the boy and then called his
(Qudus) master, Idowu Gabriel.
“Gabriel and Lateef said they tied up the boy and then called his father to take him away.”
Our correspondent learnt that Arogundade
took the boy home and then beat him up with barbwire, sticks and other
objects for about five hours.
As the beating continued, Qudus started getting weak and later died.
According to eyewitnesses, on seeing that Qudus had given up the ghost, Arogundade called a grave digger to bury his corpse.
An eyewitness, Adekunle Adekoya, said that no one could intervene when Arogundade was beating up his son because Arogundade was a hot-tempered man.
He said, “He (Arogundade) is
hot-tempered. When he brought his son home around 12pm, he beat him till
about 5pm. The boy kept on screaming and we could do nothing to save
him because we did not want his trouble.
“Some neighbours were also around at the
time but no one wanted to interfere. After sometime, the boy just went
unconscious. We did not know he was dead. It was when I saw a man
digging a grave in front of Arogundade’s house around 7.30pm that I knew
the worst had happened.
“I immediately called the Lagos State Emergency telephone number but no one came.”
The traditional leader of the community,
Oludapo Sule, said he reported the matter to the police as well as
members of the Oodua People’s Congress.
He said they were able to apprehend Arogundade at midnight.
He said, “I received an anonymous call
on the day of the incident and the caller told me that a man had killed
and buried his son in front of his house. I was able to meet with the
landlords in the area, who confirmed the incident to me
“So, at midnight, he was picked up and
taken to the police station. The matter has been transferred to the
State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba and I have written my
statement.”
Sule however urged the police to ensure that Qudus’ corpse was exhumed and given proper burial.
Chairman, Alogba Estate and Palapo Town
Community Development Association, Mr. Agboola Aluko, said Arogundade
had been terrorising the community for quite some time.
He said Arogundade had inflicted machete cuts on Qudus before and had even threatened to kill members of the community.
He said, “Arogundade had beaten Qudus
with a machete before and even almost killed his wife. That was why she
divorced him. Even when he was being arrested, he threatened to deal
with anyone who spoke against him.
“I have settled many disputes in this
area caused by Arogundade. Even women in the area are scared of him. We
have reported his bad behaviour to the police before.”
Arogundade, however, said he did not kill his son. He said his son was merely beaten after he was accosted for stealing.
The police statement on the incident
read, “Upon his arrest, Arogundade said he did not kill his son. He said
he (Qudus) was almost dead when Lateef and Gabriel handed him over. He
said his son died soon after and then buried his corpse in front of his
house and went to bed.
The police source said, “We have also
arrested Lateef and Gabriel but they claimed they only tied up the boy
and did not kill him. Investigations are ongoing.”-punch
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