A 20-year-old man, Gbolahan Ismaila, has been arrested by the Oyo State Police Command, for killing a 35-year-old woman, Toyin Olubowale, with a wooden stool after allegedly raping her.
The Commissioner of Police in the State, Shina Olukolu, while parading the suspect on Friday at the command headquarters, in Eleyele, Ibadan said the culprit forcefully had sex with the victim before killing her.
He said on August 29, 2019 around 2pm, Ismaila boarded a commercial motorcycle ridden by one Joel Musa to Olubowale’s house.
The CP explained that Ismaila sexually assaulted the woman and subsequently smashed her head with a wooden stool which led to her death, adding that the suspect made away with her phone.
The Police boss stated, “When the commercial motorcyclist returned him to Oju-Irin, Akobo area of Ibadan, he noticed a wound and blood stains on one of Ismaila’s fingers and he became suspicious due to unusual sound he heard from the house while he was outside.
“The rider went back to the house and met people crying over the death of the deceased. He thereafter informed the people that he knew the suspect. Hence, he was promptly arrested and handed over to the police.”
Olukolu noted that the motorcycle rider led policemen to arrest Ismaila, whom he said had confessed to the crime.
Two other suspects, one Oyedeji Blessing, who received the stolen phone and one Oyekola Mumini, a phone repairer, who assisted to wipe off the information on the phone were also arrested.
Olukolu called on members of the public to always make use of the two emergency control room numbers, 07055495413 and 08081768614, in case of any distress.
He also called on the people of the state to continue to support the police with credible and timely information.
“I want to use this medium to assure the members of the public of our preparedness to protect life and property before, during and after this Yuletide period. I equally want to sternly warn criminals who feel Oyo State can be a safe haven to have a rethink and relocate out of the state as the long arm of the law will surely catch up with them,” the CP added.
The suspected murderer, Ismaila, blamed the incident on the work of the devil. He said he had initially wooed the deceased but the woman asked him to give her time to think about the love proposal.
He said, “On that day, I went to her house, I had sex with her forcefully and thereafter, I used a wooden stool to hit her on the head. It was the work of the devil. I don’t know what prompted me to kill her.”
