Shehu Tijani/

Three suspects held by the police in Ogun have told how and why they murdered an ex-CBN official, Kehinde Fatinoye, his wife, and his only son on New Year’s eve.

According to the police situation report, one of the suspects who had been a driver to the victims for 8 years told the police that he organized the crime because his boss refused to increase his salary.

Police authorities in Ogun identified the suspects as Lekan Adekanbi a.k.a Koroba, Ahmed Odetola a.k.a Akamo, and Waheed Adeniji a.k.a Koffi.

According to the police, the suspects were arrested following a painstaking intelligence-based investigation embarked upon by officers to unravel the mystery surrounding the gruesome murder of the couple, Kehinde and Bukola Fatinoye and their only son Oreoluwa Fatinoye.

The victims were killed in what the police described as the most gruesome manner on the eve of the New Year’s Day celebration immediately after they returned from Cross-over service. The murderers also set their corpses ablaze to cover their tracks.

Ogun State police spokesman, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi stated: “Upon the report of the dastardly act, the Commissioner of Police directed the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigations Department to take over the case and ensure that the culprits were brought to justice.

“In the course of the investigation, one Lekan Adekanbi, a driver to the deceased family, was arrested based on circumstantial evidence, while the investigation continued. The arrested suspect Lekan Adekanbi suddenly collapsed in the cell on the 2nd of January 2023, and he was rushed to the hospital for medical care. But while in the hospital receiving treatment, he suddenly jumped from the bed and escaped through the fence of the hospital. His escape further confirmed the police’s suspicion of his involvement in the case.

“There and then, the Commissioner of Police ordered the State anti-kidnapping unit to join forces with the homicide unit in order to get the escaped driver and his accomplices arrested.

“The two teams, in compliance with the CP’s directive, embarked on a technical and intelligence-driven investigation and traced the movement of the suspect to his elder brother in Iseyin, Oyo State, but he had left the place before the arrival of the police.

“The teams further intensified their efforts which yielded positive results, when Lekan Adekanbi was apprehended in his hideout somewhere in Abeokuta on the 21st of January 2023.

“On interrogation, Lekan Adekanbi who has been the couple’s driver since 2018 confessed to being the mastermind of the dastardly act. He stated that he invited the other two suspects Ahmed Odetola a.k.a Akamo and Waheed Adeniyi a.k.a Koffi to come and join him to rob the couple. He confessed further that he took the step because the couple refused to increase his salary, and that he approached them for a loan to buy a motorcycle, but they didn’t oblige him.

“He stated further that on that fateful day, he and his two accomplices waited for the couple to come back from crossover service since he has access to the house and they pounced on them immediately after they entered the house.

“When asked why the Alsatian dog in the house did not attack them, he stated that the dog is very familiar with him being the person who always fed it.

“Having got hold of the couple, they forced the husband, Kehinde Fatinoye to transfer money from his account to the “Kuda” Bank account of Ahmed Odetola, but the transfer failed. It was then Lekan Adekanbi who gave the deceased his own Access Bank account to which the sum of N1,102,000 was transferred at gunpoint.

“Since Lekan realized that his identity has been known through his bank account, he decided with others to terminate the life of the couple, consequent upon which Waheed Adeniyi a.k.a Koffi took a knife from their kitchen and slaughtered the husband Kehinde Fatinoye, while Lekan Adekanbi used sledgehammer he purposely brought for the operation to hit the wife Bukola Fatinoye on the head and she died on the spot.

“While the operation was going on, the only son of the deceased, Oreoluwa Fatinoye, and their adopted son, Felix Olorunyomi walked in and the hoodlums pounced on them too, tied them with rope and drove them to Ogun River Bridge at Adigbe and threw them into the river.

“Luck however smiled at Felix Olorunyomi when the rope on his hand loosened, and he was able to swim out of the river. But Oreoluwa was not that lucky as his dead body was recovered the following day.

“Waheed Adeniyi a.k.a Koffi and Ahmed Odetola a.k.a Akamo were apprehended at Ogere on Thursday 9th of February 2023.

“The three suspects who are members of Aye Confraternity have all confessed to their various roles in the gruesome and callous murder of the family.

“Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Frank Mba has ordered the suspects be charged to court as soon as possible.”