Babalola Dolapo, a 39-year-old fruit trader, has been arrested for killing his childhood friend, Evangelist Opeyemi Oyelakin, stealing his motorcycle and dumping his corpse in a pit on Oke-Igbo Road in Oke-Igbo/Ile-Oluji Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Dolapo, who was arrested by police detectives in the state, said he sold the stolen motorcycle for N130,000 after killing his friend.
He confessed to committing the crime with one Sikiru Mutiu, who is now on the run.
He said: “It is the work of the devil, I can’t explain because this person that we are talking about was my close friend. Truly, his bike is not the first bike I would steal but I have never killed before. Even those that are not related to me, I snatched the bike from them and did not harm them but this one is just a coincidence.
“We sold this motorbike for N130,000 and we shared the money equally because we were two in the business. When we wanted to collect the bike from him, he struggled with us and I hit him with stone. I know his mum and younger brother.
“I can’t explain why I killed him. I am a trader, I sell oranges but I don’t have a shop. I do go to villages to buy oranges. I am from Oyo State, but resides in Ondo town. I’m yet to marry and this would be the first time I would come to this area. I have been in the business since 2021.”
On the incident, the state police commissioner, Abayomi Oladipo, who led detectives and medical personnel to evacuate the decomposing body of the deceased from the pit where it was dumped in the bush, frowned that farm owners where the corpse was dumped failed to alert the police despite the stench in the area for days.
Oladipo said: “Through technical intelligence, the suspect was arrested and upon interrogation, he confessed to how the motorbike rider was engaged from Ondo town to take him and one other to a farm area in Oke-Igbo.
“The rider, who incidentally happened to be his friend and brought him to this area where we are and on getting to this point, they came down under the pretence that they wanted to inspect their farm.
The other suspect, who is now at large, griped the Okada rider by the back while the arrested suspect hit him with stone on the head and used wood to batter his head.
“Thereafter, they carried the dead body into the bush and used leaves to cover him and left him there. After interrogation, the suspect led operatives to this particular location where they kept the body of the deceased and that is why we are here to evacuate the corpse and do the necessary procedure so that the family can bury him.
“I want to use this opportunity to alert members of the public, especially those who ride Okada, to be careful of the passengers that engage their services to far areas or take them to isolated roads.
“Also, I want to say that the residents of this area, especially those who have been farming here since March 15, when this incident happened till date, kept mute which is not supposed to be. So, what we are saying is that if you see something, you must say something.
“At the moment, we are still investigating to apprehend all other offenders who are on the run.
“Also, we have embarked on enlightenment campaign to sensitise Okada rider to know that it’s dangerous to take passengers to isolated places.”
