Another traditional ruler in Ogun State, the Baale of Olowe Gbagura in Abeokuta North Local Government Area, Chief Akin Muheedeen, has been reportedly burnt to death.
Daily Trust reports that on January 24, the Olu of Agodo, Oba Ayinde Odetola, was killed in the Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state.
Odetola’s corpse and three of his aides’ were burnt to ashes by unknown gunmen following a chieftaincy dispute among members of the community.
Barely one month after the incident, Muheedeen was burnt to death by yet-to-be identified persons.
It was gathered that the community’s head had gone out to observe the Islamic morning prayer (Subhi) when the fire was discovered within his compound.
The locals said the traditional ruler was killed by some unknown persons, who they said broke a window to gain access.
It was gathered that the assailants set him on fire after killing him.
Daily trust further gathered that the deceased baale currently had an issue with some people over land matters.
He was reportedly arrested and arraigned for his alleged involvement in a tussle with some individuals claiming ownership of the land.
The village head, who was expected to appear in court on March 15, had reportedly commenced the amicable resolution of the matter before his death on Monday morning.
One of his wives, Silifat, while confirming the incident, said she was returning from the mosque around 6am when she saw fire billowing from their compound.
“When I saw the fire, I shouted, I didn’t know what was happening. I rushed down, only to discover that my husband was on fire, already dead. We later found out that a window at the back of the house was broken. We didn’t know who killed him,” Silifat said.
His second wife, Iyabode, said she slept in the same room with her husband, saying her husband left the room at dawn to urinate and pray as usual.
“He used to pray every morning, so he went out around 6am to urinate and prepare for prayer. After about 15 minutes, I heard my senior wife shouting, ‘fire, fire’. I rushed out to discover that it was baale that was on fire. He didn’t go out with fire or matches. We don’t know who did this,” Iyabode explained.
While condemning the incident, the Seriki of Olowe, Chief Kazeem Dauda, explained that there was an issue between the baale and some individuals.
The seriki said, “Few days ago, I was here with him to talk to him not to panic about the case in court. Some people have been claiming ownership of his land. He was even arrested and granted bail in court. He was supposed to be in court again on the 15th of March. He was a gentleman. This would be the first time he would have an issue with anyone.
“I got a call this morning that he burnt himself to death. I said, ‘how come?’ But when I got there, we discovered the window was broken. He couldn’t have burnt himself like that.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said he had not been briefed on the incident.
