Robbers cut off businessman’s index fingers

If you suddenly find the family of Alhaji Tajudeen Otaniyi, a businessman,  giving out assorted foods and money to beggars on the roads or in the streets, don’t be alarmed in anyway. Even if you are told that a special prayer is being held in his honour at a central mosque, you should equally not be surprised.  It is not that he likes to spend money like sand or engage in unnecessary show-off. But he has every reason to do all of that and even more. Why? But for God, his creator, he would have gone to join his forebears, in a most tragic way, recently. And his family too would have since been thrown into a long mourning session.
On that fateful day, Otaniyi and some others were allegedly attacked by certain members of Efire Town in Waterside Local Government Council of Ogun State. The uninvited guests were said to have laid siege to his residence between 10.00p.m. and 11.00p.m., ransacking the rooms and attacking anything in their sight. Daily Newswatch reliably gathered that the attackers’ real target   was Otaniyi who, at the end of the invasion, received 42 deep machete cuts. They were said to have fled when they were thought that he was dead. But they were dead wrong. However,   they made away with valuables, including cash in both local and foreign currencies.
Although he escaped death by whiskers, Otaniyi will live with the bitter experience for the rest of his life, as he lost his index fingers (both right and left) to the unprovoked attack.
Investigations revealed that the victims, Tajudeen Otaniyi, Olayinka Alaba, Chief Taye Okongi Otaniyi and others had just had their supper and were relaxing in front of their house. Shortly after, Otaniy went inside, leaving others behind.   It was also learnt that almost immediately, one Yinka Adeniyi reportedly walked past, thereby “raising the curiosity of Olayinka Alaba who all the while was facing the road, while Okongi Taye Otaniyi was backing him.”
In an interview with Daily Newswatch, Otaniyi, who now cuts a pathetic sight on his hospital bed, recalled the tragic encounter, saying, “Not more than two minutes after Yinka Adeniyi walked past, the people I left behind were surrounded by assailants who were all armed to the teeth. They came with cutlasses, guns, axes and other dangerous weapons. They were about 10 that invaded my house that night. Immediately they began to machete my people, Yinka Alaba was forced back into the house, while Taye Okongi ran into hiding after vain attempt to defend himself from the onslaught.
“On hearing the commotion from outside, especially the outburst of Yinka Alaba, I left my bedroom, but I was accosted on the passage. It was there the armed robbers began to attac me so callously. Despite the fact that I ran into the toilet, they still pursued me. They, however, left when they thought I was dead. “Meanwhile,  Alaba had run into my room and bolted the door. But they kicked the door open, leaving Alaba with no other option but to bolt into the ceiling; so, the armed robbers left him and began to ransack the rooms. They eventually made away with 25,000.00 CFA; N20, 000.00; eight GSM handsets and documents of landed property belonging to the Otaniyi Jomilo Families of Efire, having removed them from the envelope in which they were kept.”
Meanwhile the family of Otaniyi has, through his lawyer, Chief B. Alaba of Babasoji  A . Alaba & Co., petitioned the office of the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, seeking justice in the matter. According to the petitioner, “The following people were identified and seen with the robbers: Folorunsho Openiyi; Olajuwon Tekobo; Bola Adeniyi; Leke Adeniyi; Idowu Sanuwa; Yinka Adeniyi and Oliwo Olanipekun Ogbele Okunniyi.   “All of them are known to the members of Efire Community in Ogun Waterside Local Government of Ogun State. Yinka Adeniyi was seen just some few minutes before the attack in a manner that was suspicious,as if he was conducting a survey.”
It was also stated in the petition that the role of   “Oliwo  Olanipekun Ogbele Okunniyi that night  and on some other days  was highly suspicious.  “Not long before the attack was carried out about 10.00p.m., he was seen blaring his car speaker right in front of the market. Much later, he was also seen to have moved the car from the market to the junction of the road, leading to the house of Alhaji Otaniyi Tajudeen, with his speaker blaring noisily all the way; and he left about the same time the armed robbers concluded their assignment.”
The petitioner claimed further that on the day of the bloody attack, “Yinka Adeniyi was seen entertaining some strangers in the community, whom he also conveyed to a beer parlour at a neighbouring village on 5th day of May, 2013, in his father’s car and was equally noticed to have been using the car to parade the town almost 10 times in the day, moving restlessly  from one point to the other while making contacts on his cell phones all along.”
Consequently, the IG ordered for a discreet investigation into the matter, with the view that the culprits will be brought to book as soon as possible.  Daily Newswatch was hinted that a handful of arrests had been made by detectives in connection with the matter.  The arrested persons may soon be charged with armed robbery and attempted murder.  Therefore, Alaba, on behalf of his clients, appealed to the Inspector- General of Police to use his good office to “get to the root of the matter, in order to ensure justice, long- lasting peace and sense of security and safety in the community.” He also disclosed that there had never been any known cases in the history of Efire Community bordering on “on armed robbery until now.”
An independent source had earlier told Daily Newswatch that some palace hands were actually indicted in the matter. However, several calls made to His Royal Majesty, Oba Musa Adetokunbo Adeniyi, the Elefire of Efire, for comments were not answered and even the text message sent to his mobile phone was not replied as at the time of filling in this report.
mydailynewswatch