Though he is yet to get a satisfying answer, the two men suspected to have been involved in a plan to assassinate him have been arrested by the police and are currently undergoing interrogation at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku.
Police sources informed Crime Reports that the dealer, in company of one of his staff, Morakinyo Kolawole, reported at Sango police station that two of his staff, Sarafadeen Hassan and Olasumbo Akinola allegedly hired one Lateef and one Segun to murder him. He claimed that Kolawole was also targeted because he was the one who usually kept the key of the petrol station’s strong room and the plan was that the key should be removed from his pocket after he must have been killed so that all the sales money could be taken away.
It was further gathered that the saving grace for the dealer was the fact that he was known by the alleged killer, who promptly informed him of the evil plan against him. It was further gathered that Lateef and his partner hatched a plan to present a make-believe story to Hassan, that they had carried out their assignment. Lateef was said to have told Hassan and Akinola that the operation had been executed and N70,000 removed from their victim, Kolawole.
Lateef had reportedly told the duo that they should meet at a hotel at Sango area so that they could share the money. Unknown to Hassan and Akinola, a patrol team from Sango police station led by the Divisional Crime officer, DSP George Clement had already been sent to the hotel. They were promptly arrested.
Crime Reports learnt that before the alleged plan, Hassan had borrowed N75,000 from the petrol station sales without the knowledge of the dealer.
When this came to the dealer’s knowledge, Hassan reportedly promised to pay back but did not fulfil his promise. As result of this, the dealer was said to have suspended him from work, asking him to find a means of paying back the money.
Miffed by his boss’s action, Hassan allegedly hired Lateef and Segun, who are known bouncers, to kill his boss. Hassan was also alleged to have once threatened Kolawole that he was going to deal with him for revealing to the management that he (Hassan) collected N13,000 out of sales money from him (Kola).
Hassan, however, denied the allegation, saying he didn’t know why Lateef concocted such a lie against him. According to Hassan, “I have been working with the dealer since 1986. It is true I borrowed N75,000 from company’s purse. That would not be the first time and he would ask me to return it, which I would do. Concerning the N75,000, the dealer asked me to stop working and look for how to repay it. I was to go to Oyo to see an elder brother of mine who promised some money, but on my way there with Sumbo, the brother told me not to come again, as he was not around.
“Depressed by this, I called Lateef on my way back, asking him to borrow me some money. He promised to call me. He later asked me to come and I met him where he was drinking beer with others. He promised to do something the following morning. He also asked me to pay for the drinks they were taking.
“At about 6a.m. the following day, Lateef called me again and said I should join him at a hotel where his friend he spoke to me about was lodging. I met him at Sango railway crossing and we went to the hotel together. He called someone and asked him to bring N70,000, that I was already around. I also called Sumbo to help me get more money.
“When I saw time was going, I stepped out of where I was, only to see Kola holding on to Sumbo. I called him to ask what was happening but he shut me up, saying that I planned his death. I was shocked by the statement because I did not plan such a thing, as we did not quarrel. That was how Lateef and others started beating us before they handed us over to the police.”
He denied planning his boss’s death, cursing himself that evil should befall him if he did so. He admitted that he was unhappy with Kola when he told their boss about the N13,000 he borrowed from the company’s money when the boss did not ask him about it.
Sumbo who said he started work with Total, Sango about two years ago, told Crime Reports: “Hassan called me one night that I should follow him to his brother’s house where he wanted to get some of the money he was owing the company. As we were going, I saw we were going towards the outskirts of Ibadan, unknown to me that he was going to Oyo town, On the way he received a call that he should not come again. We turned back and went our different ways.
“The following day, he called me early in the morning that I should resume office early so that I could help him get money to borrow to repay his loan. On my way to office, he called me that he was at Value City Hotel, asking to come in and see him. I also got Lateef’s call telling me to hurry up, that he was with Hassan. When I got there, I didn’t see anybody. Later, I saw him. Then I saw Kola who held on to my shirt. That was how I was arrested.”
The police image maker in Oyo State, DSP Olabisi Clet-Ilobanafor however said that the suspects had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Iyaganku, for further investigations, saying that if found culpable, they would be arraigned in court accordingly.
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