Election Day tragedy: Murder in the cathedral By TUNDE ODESOLA Friday, 13 May 2011 The report is lengthy but have highlighted some key points in bold
The country’s passiveness to criminality has once again played up in the silence which has greeted the killing of five  persons in a church on the morning of the federal parliamentary elections in Ile-Ife, Osun State. TUNDE ODESOLA reports. It was the early hours of the day of the federal parliamentary election; April 9, 2011 – to be precise. The sermon at Temiloluwa Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Ile-Ife, was in full swing with the congregation listening with rapt attention. 75-year-old pastor, Pa Joseph Akinola, was preaching about the signs of end time. “At the end of time, strange things will begin to happen,” his voice thundered from the altar. Suddenly, he bent double, raised his right hand midair and opened his mouth. But no sound came out. Only tiny drops of blood trickled down the left side of his mouth, his eyes glazed. Pa Akinola slumped and curled up in a heap. A bullet had ripped through his chest. In the same breath, a hail of bullets rained into the church, leaving two worshippers, Taofeek Kolawole, and Wale Ologbenla, dead. Bedlam! Worshippers screamed. Panic gripped the congregation. Where are the bullets coming from? Another worshipper, Damilola Adeniyi, in panic, ran out of the church. He was stopped by bullets inside the church premises. He lay dead in the pool of his own blood face down.
Just a moment before the attack on the church, residents of No 68, Isale Agbara Street, Ile-Ife, who were enjoying fresh breeze on a moonless night, came under heavy gun attack. The residence belonged to the late Alhaji Niniola Makinde, the father of the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria for Ife Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives, Chief Rotimi Makinde, who voluntarily retired as an accountant with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation last February after 25 years of service. Twenty-three-year-old Tope Omisakin was one of the relatives of Makinde, who, along with a few of the politician’s supporters, were enjoying the cool breeze of the night. Omisakin fled as the first hail of bullets shattered the silence of the night. He ran towards the back of the old storey building en route the church premises, which is a block away. Unknown to 23-year-old Omisakin, the gunmen were hiding in the dark bush adjacent the church. Little did he know that he was running to his grave! The gunmen got a good view of him as he ran, panting and panicky. One of the gunmen directed his pump action rifle at him, spraying and snuffing life out of him. It was after Omisakin was killed that the gunmen turned their weapons of death on the wooden church, spraying it from a distance. This was the moment when bullets hit the pastor and three other worshippers.
What could be the motive of the killings? Who could be behind the killings? One of the relatives of Makinde, Alfa Olawale Salam, who was in front of the residence when the assailants stormed, gave an insight into how the attack occurred. He said, “We were all outside talking about the federal parliamentary election coming up in the morning. All of a sudden, we heard gunshots. Nobody knew where the shots were coming from, so we all fled in different directions. Omisakin and I fled towards the church. He was faster, so he was ahead of me. While he ran towards the church, I ran to the bush beside the primary school opposite the church. I ran under the cover of darkness. The church area was lit. I think that was why they got him. It was God’s grace that I survived because everybody took off on instinct. The assailants must have mistaken the church for a house, where night guards were sleeping because there was no point spraying the church after they had killed Omisakin. The church had no signboard in its premises. They were so close to me, if I had a gun, I would have got the three of them. They came in a Hilux truck. Some of them remained in the vehicle while three of them stepped out and carried out the operation. It was military like.”
Speaking amid sobs, Makinde said, “I had just left my relatives and supporters in front of my father’s house barely 40 minutes when the killers stormed at 1:45 am and left at 2:05 am. I was the target of the attack. During the botched federal parliamentary election scheduled for April 2, 2011, my political opponents had seen the handwriting on the wall; in all the wards where voting was collated before the cancellation of the election, I was leading. They felt threatened that I would win the election. This is the reason for the attack. All I am crying for is justice. These innocent souls must not die in vain. What was their sin to be so gruesomely murdered? I pray God to rise and hearken to my cry. Their motive was to either kill me or cause anarchy such that the Independent National Electoral Commission would postpone the election in Ife Federal Constituency. The attackers had earlier stormed the residences of ACN leaders, who included Chief Felix Awofisayo, senator-elect, Mr. Jide Omoworare, Mr. Biyi Odunlade and Mr. Lanbua Aderemi in Parakin and Ibadan Road areas before storming my house. Some Peoples Democratic Party members in Ife were behind the attack. Two days before the incident, the killers held a meeting in Kalakuta residence in Ogbon Agbara area of Ife, where they planned the attack. Marijuana and hard drugs are sold at the residence. I was tipped off by someone after the meeting and I informed the police of the information I had. I had written petitions to the police and the State Security Service over the threats to my life. But the police commissioner, Mr. Peter Gana, reassured me that the police would protect life and property in Ife. A member of the PDP In Ife, Mr. Adedotun Adebowale, popularly called Mere, was at the meeting in Kalakuta residence.” Commenting on the development, Gana, who visited the scene of the crime on April 9, 2011, vowed that the killers would be brought to justice.
Denying the claim, Adebowale, who is currently being detained over the matter, described the allegation as false and silly. He said, “I have never held a gun in my life. Why should I engage in killing? Makinde is a theatre practitioner, I think he is acting. But he should stop fabricating false allegations to score cheap political points. Why should I plan to kill? I don’t have such an antecedent. I was properly brought up to respect human life and dignity. It is absurd for anyone to link me with any killing anywhere. We should learn to play decent politics.”
Immediate past Chairman of Ife-East Local Government Council, Chief Gbenga Owolabi, who has defected to the ACN said, “The killers had threatened me too. They said I must not be in Ife on the day of election. I reported to the police. I should be free to join any party I want. This is democracy and no anarchism or fascism.”
Widow of Pa Idowu, Mrs. Rebecca Akinola, 64, disclosed that more than 30 worshippers were at the vigil when the killers unleashed mayhem. She said, “When the bullets were flying, many of us lay flat on the floor. Baba did not die immediately. He was still breathing. I was crying and I was calling on people to come out and help me take him to the hospital but when help came, it was too late. I want to continue with the ministry but I don’t want to use that church again. I want another church to be built for me by people of goodwill or government. I need help to take care of my children. I need help as Baba who was taking care of his children and other people’s children is gone. Baba was from Ondo.”
Speaking with our correspondent, Taofeek’s father, Rafius Kolawole, said “my son was a Christian even though I am a Muslim. He was writing his Senior Secondary Certificate Exam when he met his death. He was my firstborn and my only son. Also speaking, the father of Wale Ologbenla, said he is devastated by the death of his firstborn. “Wale was a draughtsman. His mother died last year. I learnt that some people were killed in the church of Baba but I didn’t know that my Wale was involved,” he said.
Describing Damilola Adeniyi as a commercial motorcyclist, his relative, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, explained, “Damilola was a mechanic. He was a friend to the pastor’s son. He came to worship in the church when he met his death.”
A human rights activist, Mr Amitolu Shittu, in an interview with our correspondent, said it was shocking that “no outrage had greeted such a murderous act. It is shocking that the nation is keeping quiet in the face of this heinous murder. Human right groups should take up the issue. The clergy, the laity and other social institutions such as the media, student bodies, youth groups judiciary and even traditional rulers’ councils should speak up.”
Desperation can only be found in PDP http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201105137341578 |
