By Ayodele Popoola

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Another suspect believed to be part of the mob that lynched a 25-year-old driver, who was alleged to be a ‘Yahoo boy’, Temitope Olorunfemi, has been remanded by an Akure Chief Magistrate Court.

The suspect, Ayomide Aladelusi, 27, was arrested on January 24, 2024, at the Isolo area of Akure following a tip-off by the mother of the deceased, who informed the Police of his whereabouts.

Aladelusi, a father of one was declared wanted by the police for being part of the mob that beat Temitope to death and thereafter got petrol from his motorcycle to set his car ablaze.

The defendant was charged with two counts of felony and murder.

Police prosecutor,  Nelson Akintimehin, said that the defendant and others at large committed the offence on April 10 at about 9 p.m., opposite Odopo Town Hall, along Ijoka Road, Akure.

Akintimehin informed the court that the defendant conspired to commit a felony and unlawful murder of the deceased, Temitope in cold blood with sticks, stones, and other offensive weapons.

The offences, Akintimehin said, contravene Sections 324 and 316(1) of the Criminals Code, Cap 37 Vol. 1 Laws of Ondo State.

The court did not take the pleas of the defendant.

The prosecutor, through a written application, urged the court to remand the defendant at the Olokuta Correctional Centre pending the issuance of advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions(DPP).

However, the defendant, in his statement denied the allegation, claiming that he went into hiding since he was declared wanted, so as to save his life from the family of the deceased threatening to kill him.

“ I ran away when they were looking for me because my life is in danger.

“ I am a hairdresser. On the fateful day, I was in the house opposite the scene of the crime attending to a customer, and packed my motorcycle.

“I saw some mob beating the deceased and I took a stick to move the deceased in the process of taking my motorcycle from the scene of the crime.

Chief Magistrate Musa Al-Yunus, ordered the remand of the defendant in the Ondo Correctional Centre.

“I’m satisfied that probable cause exists for the remand of the defendant for the alleged offence.

“The defendant is hereby remanded for DPP’s advice,” the Magistrate ordered.

He adjourned the case till May 16, 2023

Recall  Temitope was gruesomely lynched last year by an irate mob after his vehicle crushed four persons to death along the Ijoka area of Akure, Ondo State capital, on Easter Monday.

The mob allegedly stoned him to death after they reportedly found some fetish items in his vehicle.

But his family members have denied that he was a ‘yahoo boy’ as alleged by his killers.