Police arrest three suspects over murder of okada rider in Kwara

The Kwara State Police Command has reported that its detectives have recovered the severed head of a commercial motorcyclist, Rafiu Akano, who was murdered in Asunlere village, Oke-Oyi, in the Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State on Sunday.

The 34-year-old Rafiu, who recently purchased a new motorcycle for commercial purposes, was allegedly killed by three men: Peter Samuel, Jeremiah Tiozinda, and Sunday Agbenke, who have been apprehended by the police.

Police discovered the headless body of the late Okada rider on Monday at the crime scene. The three suspects, who confessed to the crime, stated that they had thrown the severed head into a river.

In a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, Ejire-Adeyemi Toun, on Saturday, the police said, “The Kwara State Police Command wishes to inform the public of an important breakthrough, wherein police investigators at the SCID Ilorin have recovered the dismembered remains of the late Rafiu Akano (M), 34 years old, who was brutally murdered by Peter Samuel (M), Jeremiah Tiozinda (M), and Sunday Agbenke (M) on 4th November 2024.”

“All three suspects have confessed to the crime, with the motive to dispossess the late Rafiu of his commercial motorcycle.”

The statement continued, “Sunday Agbenke provided the phone contact of the motorcycle rider to Peter Samuel to lure him to an undisclosed location. On their way, the rider was stopped when Peter Samuel pretended to need to relieve himself, allowing Jeremiah Tiozinda to strike the rider on the head with a stick.”

“The rider fell off his motorcycle, struggling to escape, but was eventually overpowered by Peter Samuel and Jeremiah Tiozinda. Peter Samuel then used a cutlass to sever the head, while Jeremiah Tiozinda disposed of the dismembered part and cutlass into the stream, fleeing with the motorcycle.”

The noise of the attack alerted a Vigilante patrol team, who pursued the suspects. The culprits abandoned the motorcycle and fled into the bush. However, Peter Samuel’s mobile phone was left at the crime scene, leading to their arrest by police detectives.

One of the suspects, Samuel, who admitted to decapitating the motorcyclist with a cutlass, stated that they conspired to commit the murder to fund his wife’s burial, whose body was currently in a hospital mortuary.

Samuel explained, “I’m from Benue State. Sunday Agbenke gave us the phone number of the Okada rider, who he said had recently bought a new motorcycle. We hired the Okada rider to take us to Oloru, in the Moro Local Government Area. We killed him to take possession of his motorcycle because we needed money to transport my wife’s body home for burial.”

The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr Victor Olaiya, stated that the suspects would be arraigned in court once investigations into the case are completed.

Olaiya also reaffirmed his commitment to protecting the lives and property of the people of Kwara, and he emphasised the enforcement of the restriction on motorcycle and tricycle movement from 9 pm to 6 am daily.

He warned that anyone found violating the law would face prosecution accordingly.