GBENGA Ogunfadeke, 45, has been detained on suspicion of killing his two children by chaining them and placing them in solitary confinement.
Men from the State Security Network, also known as the Amotekun Corps, reportedly detained the suspect yesterday in Ibiade, Ogunwaterside Local Government Area of the state.
The state commander of Amotekun, David Akinremi, confirmed the suspect’s arrest in a statement made accessible to journalists in Abeokuta today.
According to the Amotekun commandant, the suspect, a father of three, allegedly shackled his children and placed them in solitary confinement for more than three months without food or water, which resulted in the deaths of two of the children. The suspect accused his children of stealing.
He continued by saying that the suspect had been abusing the kids, whose ages vary from 16, 17 and 18 years old, ever since he gained custody of them when his marriage to the childrens mother, Busola Otusegun, ended in divorce.
According to Akinremi, the suspect was detained after his ex-wife filed a complaint.
He said, “One of the three children came across his aunty in Ibiade where he currently lives with his father (suspect) and narrated their experience with their father which led to the death of his two elder siblings – Yusuf Ogunfadeke (18 years) and Dasola Ogunfadeke (17 years) between April and June, 2022 in Ijebu-Ode where they were all living with the suspect until he relocated back to Ibiade.
“According to him (the child), their father chained and locked them in solitary confinement, without food and water for over three months which led to the death of the two siblings but he miraculously survived the ordeal.”
The Amotekun commandant revealed that the suspect when interrogated, admitted the alleged confinement of the children for months, but denied not feeding them and being responsible for their death.
According to the suspect, his action was based on the children’s involvement in stealing, hence the need to ensure they are prevented from such criminal action.
He added that the suspect claimed that two deceased children were taken to hospital for treatment at different times when they fell ill, but unfortunately died in the process.
“What is however curious about his defence is that the hospital where he claimed the two children died in Ijebu Ode could neither be located nor where he allegedly buried them behind a rented apartment he lived in Ijebu-Ode before relocating to his present abode in Ibiade with the third child for possible exhumation be traced.
“The fact that he refused to make the incidents known to any member of the family also gives cause for concern as the suspect is a herbalist, thus further fueling the suspicion of having killed the deceased for possible rituals.
“Consequently, the case is being transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation with a view to establishing further facts that will facilitate his prosecution,” Akinremi added.
