The escape, rearrest of Ibadan serial killer

NOT a few Nigerians, especially residents of Oyo State, were terrified, nonplussed and astonished at the recent disconcerting news that Sunday Shodipe, the teenage serial killer plying his nefarious and murderous trade in the Akinyele local government area of the state, had escaped from police custody. During the past week, youths in the local government area protested against the shoddy handling of  the teenager by the police. The youths took their protest to the Oyo State police command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, where they intimated the state Commissioner of Police, Nwachukwu Enwonwu, with their distress and dissatisfaction with the handling of Shodipe by his men. Indeed, another group reportedly gave the police until September 1 to find the fugitive criminal.

The escape from custody of the serial killer should rightly be a source of concern against the backdrop of  sustained security lapses in the country and the suspected complicity of some errant members of the security agencies. It is shocking that such a suspect on serial murder charges could escape from police custody when he was expected to be in manacles. To worsen matters, no sooner had he escaped than another victim in the same local government area fell into the vicious, malevolent and bloodthirsty dagger of a murderer on the prowl. Was that murderer Shodipe? He may or may not have been, but his presence in town caused considerable consternation, with many wondering who would be the next victim, and when.

Understandably, the people of the local government area could not sleep with their two eyes closed. They lived in emotional turmoil and apprehension of the next visit from the serial murderer of innocent, hapless people. It was therefore really heartening to learn that Sodipe was rearrested last weekend. The Oyo State police PRO, SP Olugbenga Fadeyi, confirmed that he had been rearrested, but without giving any details about the circumstances of his rearrest. However, in a video that has since surfaced, the suspect narrated the circumstances of his escape from police custody. According to him, “The new DPO at Mokola Police Station told a policeman, Funso, that he should take us out to have our bath. The policeman took me out and warned me against trying to escape. I didn’t even think of escaping when he said that. But when I saw that he was engrossed in a discussion with a man, I climbed the tank stand and scaled the fence. It was around 7 pm when I escaped.”

Certainly, Shodipe’s rearrest has restored the credibility deficit that the Nigeria police would have suffered if the saga had lingered further. Happily, residents of Akinyele local government area can now sleep peacefully provided that Shodipe is alone in his bloodletting career. The prompt response from the Inspector General of Police and the Oyo State governor in this situation is really commendable. Clearly, the weight of their respective offices has been brought to bear on the case. They acted swiftly on the people’s request for a return to normalcy. That is the way things should be.

Yet there is still a desperate need to ensure that calm once again returns to the entire Akinyele local government area, which has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Henceforth, the police should be careful not to allow this kind of shoddiness to attend the execution of their statutory mandate of providing adequate security for the country’s civil populace.

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