Family members of the Baale of Lotu Town, in the Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State, Fatai Jubril, who was alleged to have been shot dead over a land dispute in the area on July 15, 2023, have raised concerns over the release of the prime suspect by the Zone 2 Police Command.
The prime suspect was said to have shot the deceased Lagos chief to death in the presence of his teenage daughter and wife.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident in an interview , adding that the police had launched a manhunt for the suspected killers.
The slain chief’s widow, said that she was also assaulted while struggling to save her husband from being harmed by over 50 hoodlums, whom she claimed invaded their residence.
In an interview on Wednesday, the deceased’s brother, Moshood, said some residents of the community informed him that they had been seeing the prime suspect moving around.
He urged police authorities to ensure that the matter was not swept under the carpet.
Moshood said, “Residents are saying that this man (the prime suspect) is free, but the police said he was in custody.
“How will the wife who witnessed the suspect kill her husband feel if they see each other in the community? What about the child who saw her father murdered? I am just begging the police to help us get justice.”
Speaking on Thursday, the spokesperson of the Zone 2 Command, Hauwa Idris-Adamu, confirmed that the prime suspect had been released on bail.
Idris-Adamu, however, said the investigation into the murder case had not stopped at any time.
She said, “At the moment, he (the suspect) was arrested and released. The investigation revealed that the deceased Baale brought his boys and the suspect brought his boys. So, an investigation is ongoing to ascertain whose rifle killed the deceased victim.
“The investigation has never stopped. It is still ongoing. They will still need to take the case down to the DPP to establish a murder case.”
During a visit to the deceased’s residence. his widow also claimed that the prime suspect shot her husband in her presence.
She said, “There were too many of them. Over 50 hefty men were dragging my husband to the bush. I told them I would follow them wherever they took my husband.
“Then the person who led them hit me with his leg, which sent me off balance. And shot my husband right there in my presence. My husband’s teenage daughter was also there when the suspect shot him.”