Man Mistakenly Beaten To Death, Thrown Into Lagoon Over Stolen Phone

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

A 22-year old man, Olamide Omolegbe, has been beaten to death and thrown inside the lagoon after a false alarm was raised against him over a missing phone at a drinking joint in Lagos.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the deceased was wrongly accused of stealing a phone by one Mrs. Bolanle Mohammed in her drinking joint and her customers, who were there, meted jungle justice on late Omolegbe and he died in the process.
They did not stop at that as they reportedly carried the corpse and secretly threw him into the lagoon. Later, it was discovered that it was the owner of the joint, Mrs. Mohammed, who actually stole the phone. But by then, the deceased had been lynched and thrown into the lagoon.

This was disclosed by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana. He said that on 9th July, 2019, at about 11:30am, Langbasa Police Station received a complaint that on  8^th July, 2019, at about 8pm, one Olamide Omolegbe, 22, of G.R.A, Abidjan was killed. The deceased person was accused of stealing a phone by one Bolanle Muhammed in her shop at Bodore, Ajah. The false alarm she raised led to the beating and killing of the victim by the following persons: Wasiu Wahab, Ramon Ibrahim, Junior Adebayo and Yusuf Adegbite.

“The four persons actually beat up the guy and when he was dead,they threw him into the lagoon. His body was recovered by a team of detectives led by the Divisional Police Officer, SP Ada Okafor, on 10^th July, 2019, at Badore Jetty and deposited at Mainland Hospital Mortuary for autopsy.”

DSP Elkana said that the five suspects including the woman, who raised the false alarm were arrested. Wasiu Wahab, who is the principal murder suspect and Yusuf Adegbite were arrested inside the lagoon, where they hid themselves in order to evade arrest. He said the Police have since commenced investigation which revealed that the phone was actually stolen by the son of the woman who wrongly accused the deceased person.

Elkana said the suspects confessed to the commission of the crime. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Zubairu Muazu, has ordered the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department at Panti, Yaba, to take over the investigation and ensure diligent prosecution of the suspects.