A staff of the Nigeria Correctional Centre, Pelumi Adebayo, suspected to be the murderer of one Ayo Aiyepekun, a young photo journalist in Lokoja, Kogi State may have committed suicide.
Oluwapelumi Adebayo’s naked lifeless body was discovered in a Lokoja hotel room at about 12 noon of Thursday, July 24.
An empty can of snipper liquid which he allegedly drank to kill himself was found in the hotel room.
He also left a suicide note which he also left in the hotel room.
Those who saw the suicide note said they could not decode the message except the last paragraph where Oluwapelumi Adebayo pleaded that they should shield the circumstances of his death from his children.
The corpse of the suspect was recovered by policemen just before journalists arrived at the hotel.
It was gathered that Pelumi checked into the private Lodge on Wednesday morning with the name Olorunpelumi Jacob. It was, however, later discovered that the name on his Correctional Centre Identity Card, where he is a Deputy Superintendent, did not include Jacob.
A source in the Lodge said he did not leave the hotel room until much later in the evening when he went out briefly and returned shortly after.
At day break on Thursday, the staff of the Lodge became curious when the guest did not come out. After knocking his door persistently without a response, they alerted the police.
On arrival, the law enforcement officers forced the door to open only to discover his lifeless body on the bed. A bottle of coke and a container of Snipper was also found in the room, fuelling the suspicion of suicide.
Pelumi’s body has been deposited at the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, for autopsy to determine the actual cause of death.
Recall that police in Lokoja had on Wednesday launched a manhunt for Oluwapelumi Adebayo for the gruesome killing of Ayo Ayepeku, a photojournalist working with an online newspaper based in Lokoja.
The Kogi State Command of Nigeria Police Force, command in Kogi said the Hilux vehicle allegedly used by Pelumi has been recovered and is now parked at the ‘A’ Division station.
The Command’s spokesperson, SP Williams Ovye-Aya, revealed this to newsmen in Lokoja on Thursday.
He said a deep freezer found in the vehicle has also been taken into custody by the police.
Regarding the whereabouts of Aiyepeku’s body, the police spokesperson said efforts to locate it are ongoing.
He stated that the Commissioner of Police, Miller Dantawaye, has ordered the case transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department.
“The discreet investigation will help us uncover what truly happened,” Ovye-Aya said.
He appealed to the victim’s family, colleagues, and the public to provide credible information to aid the investigation.
Earlier, the deceased’s family made a passionate appeal to police authorities and the Kogi government for justice.
Chief James Aiyepeku, father of the deceased, said his son was assassinated in cold blood and called for justice.
He described Ayobami as gentle and hardworking, with no known quarrels at work over the last four years.
He pleaded with Gov. Ahmed Ododo and security agencies to help retrieve his son’s body and punish the perpetrators.
Mr Timothy Aiyepeku, the deceased’s elder brother, and his uncle, Dr Ibikunle Jide, also appealed for justice.
Timothy said: “As I speak, we have yet to recover the body of my younger brother.”
He described Ayobami as kind, humble and hardworking, saying the family deserves justice for his untimely death.
He appealed to the Federal and Kogi governments and police authorities to uncover the mystery behind the killing.
Dr Jide commended the police for their swift response but urged intensified efforts to recover Ayobami’s body.
He stressed that government must be proactive, as every hand must be on deck to find the body promptly.
“We also thank the media for ensuring the incident receives wide coverage and public attention,” he added.
