James Ojo

The remains of Lanre Oladipupo, an Abuja based motor mechanic were interred penultimate Saturday with tears and curses by friends and relatives. As the tears and curses poured in torrents, the question on their lips was: Who killed Lanre?

The 41-year-old native of Akoko in Ondo State had closed for work on Friday with the hope of continuing the repairs of a vehicle brought to him by his boss. He did not make the following day. He was believed to have been killed on his way to his house in Peggi after dropping his boss’s car in Kuje.

Police in Kuje confirmed that when his body was found, the stomach and other organs had been removed possibly by his assailants. Lanre’s mutilated body was found on the roadside by his boss, Tunde, who decided to find out what could have delayed him from reporting early as he used to do.

After the discovery, he reported the incident at the Kuje Police Station. The body was later taken to the mortuary of the Abuja University Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada. Daily Sun was informed that Lanre’s boss started preparations for his burial by contacting members of his church and some members of their town union, even though he had earlier informed the police that Lanre had no relatives in Abuja.

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Burial plan was, however, halted by the police when his colleagues from his workshop in Area 3 got wind of the development and stormed the station. This made the police to refuse releasing the remains for burial as further investigation into the circumstances of death was ordered and Tunde detained.

Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), ordered the transfer of the case file from Kuje to the command for thorough investigation. But after about a week of investigation, police said they could not find concrete evidence linking Lanre’s death with his boss. His corpse was subsequently released for burial.

His family and friends accepted police verdict, but they held tenaciously that he was used for ritual purposes. They called on his spirit to avenge against his killers and as if he was hearing, three graves were dug before he could be buried.

As they filed out of the cemetery with tears, they were still asking: Who killed Lanre?