He said the remains of his brother were kept in a room for days while his mother thought Abayomi had been taken to a military barracks, according to what she was told on the phone.
A young man from Ogun State, Olusegun Oluwole, has alleged that an injustice was done to him by the police after a soldier allegedly connived with his neighbour to kill his brother, Abayomi Oluwole.
Olusegun, an indigene of Odomefi community in the Ijebu East Local Government Area of the state, said Abayomi was killed by a neighbour and the Baale of the community with the support of an unidentified soldier.
He said the remains of his brother were kept in a room for days while his mother thought Abayomi had been taken to a military barracks, according to what she was told on the phone.
He said, "It was on the 23rd of December my mum told me that a soldier called her on the phone to say that Abayomi Oluwole, my immediate brother, had issues with our neighbour, Iya Lekan, and the Baale of Odomefi community. She said the soldier told her they were taking Abayomi to their barracks. My mum asked the soldier what Abayomi had done wrong but instead of explaining, the soldier hung up on her.
"Some hours later, my mum tried to call back to know which of the barracks Abayomi was taken to, but it was Iya Lekan, our neighbour, that answered the call. My mother was so surprised and asked why it was Iya Lekan that picked the soldier's phone. Iya Lekan claimed she was the owner of the line.
"Immediately, my mum became restless and she called me that very day but I wasn't available to go to the village. We thought it was just an ordinary issue, but unfortunately on the 26th of December, 2020, the Baale of Odomefi community called my mum to tell her that since the day the soldier came to beat Abayomi, they had not seen Abayomi and that, there was a pungent smell coming from around our compound.
"My mum told the Baale that she thought the soldier took Abayomi to the barracks. She even thought Abayomi had some decayed foodstuff at home before his arrest. The Baale told my mother that my brother was not taken to the barracks, but was just beaten and kept in the house."
Olusegun said after a while his mother received a call from the Baale who broke the news of the death of her son to her.
He said his mother called her children immediately to inform them and upon confirmation, lodged a complaint at Ijebu-Ife police station.
The distraught brother said the police after initially arresting 13 people suspected to be behind his brother's murder, suddenly came up with another narrative that his brother was not killed and released some of those arrested after collecting bribes.
He continued, "The police went to the scene with us and carried out some investigation. They told us to take the remains of the deceased to the mortuary that day at Ijebu Ode.
"The following day, 27th of December, the police went with us to arrest the suspected killer. They arrested 11 suspects, including the Baale and Iya Lekan.
"Later at night, one Oba Alakija came to the police station, and the police started releasing the suspects after collecting money from them. At the moment, it's only Iya Lekan and the Baale that are left in police custody.
"On 28th of December, the police transferred the case to Eleweran Police Headquarters in Abeokuta (Homicide). When we got to Abeokuta, an officer in mufti interrogated us, took our statements.
"The police said we should go home and that they would call us if they need us to provide logistics to take them to Odomefi community, to do a proper investigation.
"On 30th December, the police called my mum to appear at the police station, but she told them that she had issues with her leg but that her children would come. My brother and I went there, but it was so confusing when the IPO (Investigating police officer) told us that they had gone to our village to investigate and that they found out that my brother was chasing someone with a cutlass and this led to his death.
"I asked the police why they decided to go to my house to investigate without our consent as this was not our agreement. At the moment, our brother's body is still in the mortuary. We need justice. Ever since the police started taking money from the suspects, they've not been objective in their investigation."