The Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Mr Adeniran Akinwale, said on Thursday that the police had arrested six prime suspects in connection with the kidnap and killing of the former Deputy Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, <strong>Prof Olorunfemi Olaofe.
The Police also said that the security guard to the ex-DVC was not really kidnapped alongside the professor as earlier reported but made the operation easier for the kidnappers.
Olaofe was taken away by armed men from his residence at Federal Housing Estate, Ado Ekiti, alongside his security guard, on July 9, 2024.
He was discovered dead and buried in a shallow grave in the bush along Airport Road at Afao Ekiti on Wednesday, July 31.
The Police Commissioner, in a statement on Thursday by the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State Command, Sunday Abutu, said the body of the retired university teacher had been exhumed from the shallow grave and deposited in the morgue.
The CP, in the statement, related the situation, saying, “An unknown gang of armed men allegedly stormed the residence of Prof. Femi Olaofe, kidnapped him alongside his security guard, one Abdul Opotu, and took them to an unknown destination with the professor’s Toyota Camry Car.”
He stated that the police, on receipt of the information, deployed Rapid Response Squad operatives to the scene for the possible rescue of the victims and the arrest of the perpetrators, noting, “They had already whisked the victims away before the arrival of the operatives. The operatives, however, combed the forest between Ado Ekiti and Afao Ekiti and recovered Olaofe’s Camry car.
The commissioner stated that “a discrete investigation and a painstaking operation for rescue of the victims and arrest of the perpetrators led to the arrest of one Omowaye Ayodele at Bencom Guest House, Akure, Ondo State.
“Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed to the commission of the crime and mentioned one Kenneth, Amodu Gbenga, Nnamani Chukwuka and Ojо, a.k.a Ojo Ijan, as his accomplices. He confessed further that Abdul Opotu, who was the security guard of the victim (Prof. Olaofe), was the one who invited them to kidnap the professor.
The commissioner stated that Ayodele (suspect) said that the security guard was not really kidnapped alongside the professor as earlier reported, but only played along and made the operation easier for them.
Ayodele confessed that the two AK-47 rifles used to kidnap the Professor were in possession of Kenneth, who is currently at large.
The police commissioner said, “Further investigation led to the arrest of Amodu Gbenga, who also confessed to the commission of the crime during the investigation and further narrated how he used to supply food and water to the gang members in their hideouts located in a bush behind Government College, Off Ijan Road, Ado Ekiti.
“The two suspects led the police operatives to their hideouts for the possible rescue of the victim but was discovered that the gang in custody of the victim had already relocated with the victim to another unknown location.
“Further investigation on Tuesday 30th July led to the discovery of a shallow grave in a bush located at Off Afao Road, behind the new Airport site, Ado Ekiti, where a human being was suspected killed and buried.
“Consequently, Order of Exhumation and Coroner Forms were obtained from the Magistrate Court, Ado Ekiti, while the Ministry of Environment was contacted. On Wednesday, 31st July, the police led the Ministry of Environment and some medical practitioners to the scene where the corpse was exhumed and later identified as the earlier kidnapped Professor Olaofe.
“The Corpse has been deposited At Ekiti State Teaching Hospital morgue, Ado-Ekiti, for autopsy.
“Efforts are ongoing for the possible arrest of the fleeing members of the gangs, including the security guard of the kidnapped and murdered professor who masterminded the crime. Meanwhile, six suspects have been arrested so far and are in custody undergoing investigation,” Akinwale stated.
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