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The Kwara State Police Command announced that detectives have recovered the severed head of Rafiu Akano, a commercial motorcyclist who was murdered in Asunlere Village, Oke-Oyi, within Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State on Sunday.
The 34-year-old Rafiu, who recently bought a new motorcycle for commercial purposes, was allegedly killed by three men: Peter Samuel, Jeremiah Tiozinda, and Sunday Agbenke, who the police have since apprehended.
Police recovered the headless body of the late Okada rider on Monday at the crime scene. The three suspects, who confessed to the crime, claimed they had thrown the severed head into the river.
In a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ejire-Adeyemi Toun, said on Saturday,
“The Kwara State Police Command wishes to inform the public of an important breakthrough in which police investigators at the SCID Ilorin have recovered the dismembered part of the remains of the late Rafiu Akano (M) 34yrs, who was brutally murdered by Peter Samuel (M), Jeremiah Tiozinda (M), and Sunday Agbenke (M) on 4th November 2024.”
“All three suspects have confessed to the crime, with the motive to dispossess the late Rafiu of his commercial motorcycle.”
Sunday Agbenke provided the phone contact of the motorcyclist to Peter Samuel, who then lured Rafiu to an undisclosed location. Along the way, Peter Samuel asked to stop to relieve himself, providing an opportunity for Jeremiah Tiozinda to strike Rafiu on the head with a stick.
The rider fell from his motorcycle and struggled to escape but was eventually overpowered by Peter Samuel and Jeremiah Tiozinda. Peter Samuel brought out a cutlass and severed Rafiu’s head, which Jeremiah Tiozinda then threw, along with the cutlass, into a stream. The three assailants fled with his motorcycle.
Noise from the attack alerted a nearby vigilante patrol, which chased the suspects, prompting them to abandon the motorcycle and flee into the bush. However, Peter Samuel’s mobile phone fell at the crime scene, leading to their arrest by police detectives.
One of the suspects, Peter Samuel, admitted to beheading the motorcyclist with a cutlass and said they committed the murder to fund the burial of his wife, whose body was at the hospital mortuary.
Peter explained, “I’m from Benue State. Sunday Agbenke gave us the phone number of the Okada rider, who had recently purchased a new motorcycle. We hired him to take us to Oloru, Moro Local Government. We killed him to take possession of his motorcycle because we needed money to transport my wife’s corpse home for burial.”
Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr Victor Olaiya, stated that the suspects would be arraigned as soon as the investigation was completed. He reiterated his commitment to safeguarding lives and property in Kwara State and announced the enforcement of a restriction on motorcycle and tricycle movement from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily, warning that violators would face prosecution.