The Ondo State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of a fleeing suspect in connection with the killing of a popular Akure-based caterer, Mrs Debbie Adeniyi Iyabode.
The 54-year-old businesswoman was k!lled in her house on Oda Road, Akure on July 25, 2024, five days after celebrating her birthday.
The spokesperson of the command, Funmi Odunlami, who disclosed this in a statement on Friday, October 11, identified the suspect as Precious Kolawole, a 16-year-old secondary school student.
The PPRO also advised people to install CCTV cameras to enhance personal safety and security.
“It would be recalled that painstaking investigations had earlier led to the arrest of his accomplice, one Philip Emmanuel, aged 17 years, who in a voluntary statement expressed their individual degrees of involvement in the dastardly act.,” the statement read.
“The first suspect, Precious Kolawole, claimed to have heard Mrs Adeniyi talking about receiving a substantial amount of money through her bank account and, on the heels of this, recruited Philip Emmanuel, the second suspect, to jointly m*rder the victim gruesomely.
“Clinical investigation revealed knife wounds inflicted by Philip Emmanuel and machete cuts by Precious Kolawole, resulting in the death of the victim.
“It was also gathered that the victim successfully withdrew the sum of thirty thousand Naira from her account via her ATM card.
“While the suspect is still in custody and will be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation, it is pertinent to reiterate that safety measures like observing restraint in monetary discussions around domestic staff, concealing one’s ATM PIN, and installing CCTV surveillance cameras are necessary to optimize personal safety and security.”
Speaking to newsmen, the suspect said, “I wasn’t the one who conceived the idea. It was the boy who pressured and disturbed me, and I eventually gave in. I had an Android phone. Later, on September 18, I was arrested by the police. It was just the two of us.
“I work with a woman who is a caterer and the owner of Bola Country Kitchen. One of the boys who also works with her told me that he owed some money, and if he didn’t pay, his father would lose his job. His father is a police officer.
“He then asked me if I could k!ll someone, and I said no. I later changed my mind. On the third day after the incident, he gave me N30,000 and an Android phone. On September 18, I was arrested by the police.”