Mother of slain cobbler says son would avenge his death
He was not just beaten but was injected with a substance – wife
Yemisi Olusina
To the family of Olaitan Balogun, Friday, March 15, 2019, will always be a sad day. The day, which broke normally like other days they had witnessed, ended sadly, as they were robbed of the first born of the family in a very cruel manner.
According to the deceased’s mother, Mrs. Felicia Balogun, “He was my first born, my joy but my enemies cut his life shot. He was an easy-going man, who had great plans for his own family and all of us in his extended family. He was always ready to assist any one in need around him. This was what finally put him into trouble.”
On the day of the incident, The Nigerian Xpress gathered that Balogun, who was a cobbler and lived in Donald Estate at Akute in Ifo Local Government of Ogun State, was beaten to death by one man, called Olumuyiwa Ajibade, who accused the deceased of having a secret affair with his live-in lover, Titi.
Titi was alleged to have always visited Balogun’s shop, which was close to her house to have her phone charged anytime there was power failure like some other neighbours do.
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Unknown to the two, a security man simply known as Kazeem has been allegedly informing Ajibade that the deceased and Titi were secret lovers. That night, Balogun, who was visited by his secret lover, Omolara, took her to sleep in Titi’s place because it was late. But it was one error of his lifetime. When Ajibade and his friend, who were reportedly angered by the presence of Balogun in the house he rented for his lover, he pounced on him and beat him so much that he died shortly after.
Although the accused has been arrested and even pleading for mercy, the embittered mother of the deceased said the killer of her son would not go unpunished.
According to her, “I am not even bothered by whatever the police or the law enforcement people do; my son has said he would avenge his death. Few weeks after his death, he appeared to one of his siblings and told him never to worry, that he would not allow his murderer to go scot free,” she said.
Reflecting on her loss, she said: “His death is very unbearable to me and the entire family. His wife is currently suffering and struggling to cater for his children. He is my own first child, who died in his forties. You can imagine my pain at this age. A child that did not die when he was a baby, now has to die when he is already this old but I have resigned to fate, knowing well that he has promised to take revenge in his own way.”
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The deceased’s wife, Modupeola, also demanded justice for his death. She said she could never forget the gruesome way her husband died.
“You can imagine the extent of cruelity that my husband suffered in the hands of his killer for him to have died of internal bleeding. This was what they told me at Tamara Hospital where they took him to. When I left his shop that Friday, I never knew I would never see him again. It was one of his apprentices, Chidi, that came to inform me of the incident. He was not just beaten; he was injected with a substance that made it difficult for him to breathe on his own. It was very bad. I cannot imagine the cruelty,” she lamented.
Although Titi denied being the deceased’s lover, she was reported to have said that prior to the time of the sad occurrence, she had had a misunderstanding with Ajibade and claimed she had been abandoned for some months in his house, which is close to the deceased’s shop.
