A 34-year-old man,
Arogundade Ahmed, has
been arrested by the
Lagos State Police
Command for allegedly
flogging his son to death.
According to
eyewitnesses,
Arogundade tortured his
13-year-old son, Qudus,
to death because Qudus
broke into someone’s
house and attempted to
steal.
Arogundade was said to
have killed his son in the
presence of his little sister,
Sherifat.
PUNCH Metro learnt that
after killing the boy,
Arogundade dug a grave
and buried him in front of
his house in Alogba Estate
area of Ikorodu
Our correspondent, who
visited the crime scene,
learnt that the incident
occurred on June 27,
2013.
It was leant that the
deceased was an
apprentice at a mechanic
workshop in the area.
A senior police officer at
Ipakodo Police Division,
who craved anonymity,
said, “We were told that
on the said date, Qudus
broke into the house of
one Apoti Lateef and
attempted to steal. Lateef
raised the alarm, accosted
the boy and then called
his (Qudus) master,
Idowu Gabriel.
“Gabriel and Lateef said
they tied up the boy and
then called his father to
take him away.”
Our correspondent learnt
that Arogundade took the
boy home and then beat
him up with barbwire,
sticks and other objects
for about five hours.
As the beating continued,
Qudus started getting
weak and later died.
According to
eyewitnesses, on seeing
that Qudus had given up
the ghost, Arogundade
called a grave digger to
bury his corpse.
An eyewitness, Adekunle
Adekoya, told PUNCH
Metro that no one could
intervene when
Arogundade was beating
up his son because
Arogundade was a hot-
tempered man.
He said, “He (Arogundade)
is hot-tempered. When he
brought his son home
around 12pm, he beat him
till about 5pm. The boy
kept on screaming and
we could do nothing to
save him because we did
not want his trouble.
“Some neighbours were
also around at the time
but no one wanted to
interfere. After sometime,
the boy just went
unconscious. We did not
know he was dead. It was
when I saw a man
digging a grave in front of
Arogundade’s house
around 7.30pm that I
knew the worst had
happened.
“I immediately called the
Lagos State Emergency
telephone number but no
one came.”
The traditional leader of
the community, Oludapo
Sule, said he reported the
matter to the police as
well as members of the
Oodua People’s Congress.
He said they were able to
apprehend Arogundade at
midnight.
He said, “I received an
anonymous call on the
day of the incident and the
caller told me that a man
had killed and buried his
son in front of his house. I
was able to meet with the
landlords in the area, who
confirmed the incident to
me
“So, at midnight, he was
picked up and taken to the
police station. The matter
has been transferred to
the State Criminal
Investigation Department,
Yaba and I have written
my statement.”
Sule however urged the
police to ensure that
Qudus’ corpse was
exhumed and given
proper burial.
Chairman, Alogba Estate
and Palapo Town
Community Development
Association, Mr. Agboola
Aluko, said Arogundade
had been terrorising the
community for quite
some time.
He said Arogundade had
inflicted machete cuts on
Qudus before and had
even threatened to kill
members of the
community.
He said, “Arogundade had
beaten Qudus with a
machete before and even
almost killed his wife. That
was why she divorced
him. Even when he was
being arrested, he
threatened to deal with
anyone who spoke
against him.
“I have settled many
disputes in this area
caused by Arogundade.
Even women in the area
are scared of him. We
have reported his bad
behaviour to the police
before.”
Arogundade, however,
said he did not kill his son.
He said his son was
merely beaten after he
was accosted for stealing.
The police statement on
the incident read, “Upon
his arrest, Arogundade
said he did not kill his son.
He said he (Qudus) was
almost dead when Lateef
and Gabriel handed him
over. He said his son died
soon after and then buried
his corpse in front of his
house and went to bed.
The police source said,
“We have also arrested
Lateef and Gabriel but they
claimed they only tied up
the boy and did not kill
him. Investigations are
ongoing.”
When contacted on the
telephone, the
spokesperson for the state
police command, Ngozi
Braide, said she would call
back.

Source: osundefender