THE story sounds eerily strange: a man was brutalised, tied up and left to die by members of his nuclear family over his pension benefits, and survived only due to the activities of eagle-eyed neighbours! This is the story that residents of Oko-Filling, a neighbourhood in Araromi, Ijoko, Sango Ota, Ogun State, are probably still struggling to wrap their heads around. The strange and befuddling incident reportedly took place in the wee hours of Thursday, March 13, at the family’s residence. Trouble was said to have started when the man in question refused to hand over his retirement benefits to his wife and sons. According to reports, the man had, after collecting the benefits, decided to make his wife of many years happy by opening two shops for her in the Abule area of the state. That was not all: he also reportedly gifted her the sum N3 million, apparently in recognition of her support over the years. Thereafter, he bought himself a N12 million vehicle, which he sold shortly thereafter.
But trouble quickly surfaced as his wife and four sons, who are all university graduates, allegedly expressed dissent over “the sharing formula.” They were reportedly miffed that he had not handed over the entire funds to them to use as they deemed fit, so they attempted to pressure him for more money. They also decided to have him beaten, tied up and gagged while they made away with all of the family’s belongings! Said a landlord in the neighbourhood: “He was tied up like an animal to be slaughtered. They (his wife and sons) got some Aboki men (northerners), about six of them, to tie him up. It was the strange noise from their parking that alerted residents who gathered in front of the house to know what was happening. Landlords in the area who could not endure the noise at that hour decided to go out and find out what was wrong. When they got to his compound, they saw a korope (small bus) outside packing properties. His wife and sons were the ones packing, and so the residents asked after the man. When the response given was not satisfactory, they forced themselves inside the house and saw the man completely bound with the Aboki people still inside the house, as though they were waiting to kill him. The man was untied and rushed to the hospital. He’s still at the hospital receiving treatment. The suspects were all taken to the police station. One of the Aboki men confessed it was the man’s wife that contracted them to tie him up. They were all taken to the police station that morning.”
An audio message recorded by the chairman of the Anjomo Community Development Association (CDA), Emmanuel Omola, also reportedly corroborated the information by the landlord. According to Omola, the woman had gone to the police station to report that her husband wanted to kill her. He said: “The evening of 12th March, the wife went to the police station to report that her husband wanted to kill her. The police told her to go and get a bus to convey policemen to her house to arrest her husband. She left the station and didn’t return. By the time she got to the neighbourhood, she went inside the house with some Aboki to tie up the man and when they started packing the belongings, that was when the neighbours heard noise and that was what made them all gather there.”
Omola added a word of advice: “We shouldn’t be nonchalant about things; let us respond quickly. If not that the landlords responded fast, I believe the Abokis that were brought into that house wanted to kill that man. So, if we hear noises in our neighbour’s house, we shouldn’t say it doesn’t concern us; just a swift response can save lives. If not that the landlords in the neighborhood went out, the man would have died.”
There is definitely more to this deadly, heartrending story than meets the eye, and details might still surface that will provide more context and clarity, but the reports by various media outlets and the video of the incident that has gone viral on the internet point to a most shocking case of betrayal by family members. Somehow, it seems, the man at the centre of this story risked death all because he chose to take charge of his retirement benefits, as logic and the law permitted him to do. If the details in the public space are correct, then the callous fate that befell the man is indeed befuddling, because he had taken steps to cater for his family as he was culturally expected to do. It is alarming that a group of young adults, all graduates, chose to endanger their father’s life because of their entitlement mentality. Just what is this world turning into? When did it become the norm for a pensioner to share out his benefits like candies to family members? What was he then expected to survive on, particularly given his sons’ alleged fixation on his retirement benefits? Having seen to the education of his children, was the man also expected to hand over his life savings to them? And just how could a wife and mother join her children in a plot to, as it were, finish her husband off while claiming that he had attempted to kill her? How do you plan to hurt your own husband over his money? Why leave the man to die as it were? What would have been the fate of the man if neighbours had not decided to ask his assailants probing questions and check up on his welfare? And come to think of it, is the retirement money not for the benefit of the entire family?
The Ogun State police command must unravel the facts of this case and prosecute the suspects accordingly. It is quite apparent that in their morbid greed, the suspects, in this case, did not realise the harm they were going to do to their own family. Even if the victim has another wife somewhere, that is not enough reason to brutalise and attempt to kill him. A local proverb says that those fixated on inheritance leave themselves open to a sting by wretchedness. That seems to be quite evident in this case, and it is most unfortunate. It is unthinkable that anyone would lay hands on his own parent, fearing no repercussions.
We commend the neighbours who rescued the victim. They demonstrated the primordial virtues of vigilance and neighborliness. Their example should be emulated nationwide. We demand justice in this case, and very expeditiously too. A society in which the weak are preyed upon by the strong with impunity, even if they are family members, is not ideal.
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