Thursday, 28th March 2024
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Son kills mother, hangs self in Ondo

Ondo state has been in the news lately for the bad reasons. Just days after a jilted lover, Deji Adenuga set ablaze the family home of his estranged fiancé, killing eight persons and after a young man sold his mother with a hunchback to ritual killers for N7 million, tragedy stuck its ugly head again…

Jumoke Sanumi, survivoe of the arson

Ondo state has been in the news lately for the bad reasons. Just days after a jilted lover, Deji Adenuga set ablaze the family home of his estranged fiancé, killing eight persons and after a young man sold his mother with a hunchback to ritual killers for N7 million, tragedy stuck its ugly head again at the weekend in Oyinmo quarters, Ikare-Akoko area of Ondo, when a 57-year-old Mrs. O. Ajimo, simply called Mama Gbenga, died in a scuffle with her notorious son, identified as Ayotunde Gbenga Opeyemi.

According to sources, the late Ajimo, a mother of five, had three children in Ikare-Akoko before she re-married in Akure, the Ondo State capital. Gbenga was one of the three children. He killed his mother at Akure and escaped to Ikare-Akoko where he stayed with his grandmother at Oyinmo quarters.

It was learnt that when he suspected that efforts were on to arrest him and hand him over to the police, he reportedly sneaked out to the kitchen and took his life by hanging in the night when everybody in the house had slept.

Sources said it was a relation that came out at about 3:00a.m. to ease herself who saw Gbenga dangling from the ceiling. She was said to have raised the alarm that attracted a large crowd. Police in Ikare-Akoko confirmed the report, adding that investigations had commenced on the matter.

Meanwhile, Jumoke Sanumi, elder sister of the lady whose family of nine was set ablaze by her ex-boyfriend, Deji Adenuga, has called for justice. After disagreeing with his then girlfriend, Titi Sunmonu, the middle-aged Adenuga brought a jerry-can laden with petrol in the midnight of April 23, gained entrance into the building by breaking a window, and sprayed the family while they were asleep. He later explained that he had invested heavily in her, and that she aborted the four-month-old pregnancy she had for him while they were dating.

Speaking in Igbokoda, the headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo, where she is recuperating in a house belonging to her relatives, at the weekend, Jumoke lamented that the arson had turned her to a widow and rendered her homeless, with the attendant loss of her six children. She revealed that since the tragedy occurred to her family, life has been very difficult for her, with no help or assistance from anyone.

Both Jumoke and Titi, who are the main targets of the arson, were the only survivors of the attack. Jumoke had escaped with some minor injuries, while Titi had first-degree burns from the incident and is currently battling to hold on to life at the Intensive Healthcare Unit of the Ondo State Trauma Centre.

Recalling how the incident occurred, Jumoke said Adenuga invaded their home at about 2:00a.m. to set their house on fire. “I suddenly heard a sound at the back of the door and before I could wake up, he had poured petrol into the room and put fire. When he poured the petrol, I quickly ran to open the door for my sister whose head was already on fire. I pulled the mats on which the children were sleeping and they rolled to the door. I started throwing out the children. It was in the process that I was affected by the fire. I lost all my six children, my husband and one of my younger sister’s children.

“I need justice in this matter. The man must not be allowed to go away with what he has done to ruin my life. I beg you, don’t let me die. I don’t have money to take care of my self. Try and assist me. I am in serious pains.”

The 35-year-old, who is into petty trading, denied ever collecting money from Adenuga, saying she knew little about the friendship. “It is still a mystery to me. My sister came to me and didn’t tell me anything about her disagreement with the man. She slept in my house and the man came to pour petrol on us. That was the first day my sister would sleep in my house. She always came over but she would leave the same day.”

 

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