Senator representing Ogun West and Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly called Yayi, on Monday accused soldiers of the Nigeria Army manning checkpoints around Ikeja axis of Lagos State of killing his senior aide, Mr. Adeniyi Oluwatosin Sanni.
Sanni was found dead in the early hours of Saturday August 5, 2023 in very controversial circumstances after his car was stopped by some unidentified security agents.
Senator Adeola had earlier stated that information available to indicated that Sanni was stopped at a checkpoint around Ojodu- Berger Area of Lagos on his way to his home at Isheri by unidentified security operatives, who demanded documents of the car he was driving and which he produced after making a phone call to his wife who sent all the documents to him on WhatsApp.
His wife was said to have called a while later and Sanni told her soldiers were still checking the vehicle’s paper. But that was the last she heard from her husband as Sanni’s bullet-riddled body was later discovered at the Toyota Bus Stop area of Oshodi, near a military barrack.
Giving an update about the investigation of Sanni’s murder from the Police, Senator Adeola, in a statement in Abuja, expressed a firm belief that based on available facts at the disposal of the Police, his aide was killed by soldiers deployed by the 9 Brigade, Ikeja Cantonment, who under the guise of mounting checkpoints, rob lone occupants of private cars.
The lawmaker, in the statement he personally signed, claimed that top police sources familiar with the investigation informed him that a similar brutal killing and armed robbery occurred around the same Ojodu- Berger on the night of Thursday, August 17, 2023, in which another Nigerian was killed and his corpse later discovered around Iyana- Ipaja, after soldiers took him away from the same Ojodu-Berger checkpoint.
Senator Adeola claimed that unknown to the soldiers, their victim was driving the second car in a convoy of two heading towards the same direction.
He stated that when the first car drove past the checkpoint, the soldiers stopped the second car to check the vehicle’s particulars.
He added that when the driver of the first car noticed that the second was no longer following him, he placed a phone call to the driver, who told him that the soldiers manning the checkpoint were already taking him to Iyana-Ipaja.
The lawmaker said that was the last the driver of the first car heard from his colleague driving the second car. But his corpse was later found dumped on the roadside just like that of his murdered aide, Sanni.
He said the driver of the first car reported the case to the police, who established a pattern of armed robbery and killing in the area involving men in Army uniform.
Senator Adeola, therefore, appealed to the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja, to ensure that the killers of his aide were fished out for further investigation, prosecution and justice for the deceased, adding that this had become imperative since a pattern of killings and armed robbery has been established against soldiers mounting late night checkpoints around Ikeja with similar unreported incidents in recent times around the area.
He also stated that the Nigerian Army must not be seen to condone or harbour criminals who rob and kill innocent Nigerians.
The lawmaker maintained that Sanni’s black Toyota Camry, his phones and other valuables have yet to be recovered.