The Ekiti State Police Command has identified and arrested six suspects in connection with the kidnapping and murder of the former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Ekiti State University, EKSU, Professor Femi Olaofe.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Sunday Abutu, made this known in a statement in Ado-Ekiti.
The incident occurred on July 9, 2024, when an armed gang stormed the professor’s residence at 15th Avenue, Federal Housing Estate, Ado-Ekiti, abducting him and his security guard, Abdul Opotu.
Abutu said upon receiving the distress call, the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, was dispatched to the scene. However, the perpetrators had already fled with the victims in the professor’s Toyota Camry. The vehicle was later recovered in a forest between Ado-Ekiti and Afao-Ekiti.
He maintained that the state Commissioner of Police, CP Akinwale Adeniran, ordered an immediate and thorough investigation which led to the arrest of Omowaye Ayodele, also known as A.Y, at Bencom Guest House in Akure, Ondo State.
During interrogation, Ayodele confessed to the crime and implicated several accomplices, including Kenneth, Amodu Gbenga (a.k.a Toro), Nnamani Chukwuka (a.k.a Amechi), and Ojo (a.k.a Ojo Ijan).
According to the PPRO, Ayodele revealed that the security guard, Abdul Opotu, had orchestrated the kidnapping, making the operation easier for the gang.
He said further investigations led to the arrest of Amodu Gbenga, who confessed to supplying food and water to the gang at their hideout behind Government College, Off Ijan Road, Ado-Ekiti, adding that the suspects led police to the hideout, but the gang had already relocated the victim.
“On July 30, 2024, a shallow grave was discovered in a bush off Afao Road, behind the new airport site in Ado-Ekiti. The following day, the police, along with the Ministry of Environment and medical practitioners, exhumed the body, which was identified as Professor Femi Olaofe. The corpse has been deposited at Ekiti State Teaching Hospital Morgue for autopsy”. Abutu said.
The police spokesperson noted that efforts were ongoing to apprehend the remaining gang members, including the security guard who masterminded the crime, while the six arrested suspects are currently in custody undergoing investigation.