Opeoluwa Fasola, a smuggler commonly known as ‘Ope Ilashe’ and ‘Oluaye’, is currently in the custody of the Ogun State Police Command as a suspect in the assassination of Yomi Ojonola Adetula, the director, Anti-Arms Smuggling of the Social Orientation and Safety (So-Safe) Corps in Ogun State, in his church at Idi-Iroko on January 19.
Yomi was billed to testify as FIJ’s witness in a libel case initiated against it by smuggler Ibrahim Dende Egungbohun, alias IBD Dende, before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Fasola has a history of brutal attacks and murder allegations, but he has come out unscathed each time. Like Adetula, Fasola was also an official of So-Safe and a notorious smuggler.
For instance, previous news reports documented how he was involved in the shooting of a Danton Hodewu, a mechanic in Ilashe in the Ipokia Local Government area of the state.
The slain Adetula
‘KILLING’ OF DANTON HODEWU
Sometime in 2015, Fasola engaged the mechanic to help him buy a vehicle at N800,000. He made a down payment of N600,000 and promised to pay the balance later. The vehicle was imported into Nigeria in a faulty condition and needed to be repaired, but Fasola did not turn up on time, according to The Punch, The Nation and Oriji Reporter.
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Sunday, the mechanic’s son, said that Fasola visited his dad on August 15, 2017 with Wasiu Lawal, then an inspector of police from the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FEDSARS), and arrested him.
The previous day, Fasola had paid N100,000 to Hodewu out of the balance of N200,000 for the vehicle to be repaired.
“My father demanded the payment of the N200,000 balance so he could fix the faults and give him the bus in good condition,” Sunday said.
“The vehicle was not released and when the youth leader eventually paid N100,000 on August 15, 2017, he came with three SARS officials the following day.
Opeoluwa Fasola.
“They took my father to the palace. They had a discussion on the palace premises. As he was leaving, Inspector Lawal shot him in the back.
“Ope [Opeoluwa Fasola] ran away; he later presented himself at the police headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta. He was released on bail immediately.
“The police invited the kabiyesi for interrogation, and he was also released on bail.
“The police are lying to us that Ope is in their custody; but my brother and I saw him along Koko Road in a Toyota Venza. Ope has gone into hiding since then. He was seen sometime last week. We want justice.”
The police claimed the inspector had been sacked but could not punish Fasola because “did not commit an offence”.
“The inspector that shot the man has been dismissed and he will soon be charged to court. The youth leader did not order the policeman to shoot the man. We cannot punish somebody who did not commit an offence,” Abimbola Oyeyemi, then Ogun police spokesperson, said.
“Anybody can invite the police to settle a matter. That should not make a policeman to do what is not within the ambits of the law. This is not a matter we can sweep under the carpet.”
AN NGO PETITIONED THE IGP TO INVESTIGATE FASOLA OVER HODEWU’S DEATH
Following Hodewu’s killing, a non-governmental organisation petitioned then Inspector-General of Police IGP Ibrahim Kpotun to investigate the matter and bring the police officer and Fasola to justice.
Orijo Reporter, an online news website, published content of the petition. However, FIJ was unable to independently get the name of the NGO and other details.
The content of the petition, now republished below, provided more details about the transaction and Hodewu’s death.
We are a non-governmental, non-religious and non-ethnic organization with a view to enhance respect for the rule of law, promote good practice, investigate and expose perceived human right breach and we are hereby writing this petition on behalf of Deacon Mide Abbey (herein after be referred to as our member”) in order to protect his rights and obligations.
Our member was a friend to the late Elder Paul Danton Hodewu (herein after referred to as ‘the deceased’). Our member informed us thus:
The deceased was a well-known mechanical Engineer living at Idiroko and the Managing Director of HODEWU NIG. LTD.
Opeoluwa Fasola is a notorious thug, smuggler and land grabber at Idiroko in Ogun State. Wasiu Fasola is a police officer attached to the Special Anti-robbery Squad in Idiroko, Ogun State.
Opeoluwa Fasola a.k.a. Oluaye (herein after referred to as Oluaye) contracted the repairs of a vehicle to the deceased sometimes in 2015 in which the deceased billed Oluaye N800, 000 as his contract charges. Oluaye accepted and paid the sum of N600, 000 has a deposit and consideration for the repairs to be carried out on his vehicle by the deceased.
Danton Hodewu
When the deceased exhausted the sum deposited, he called Oluaye to pay the balance of N200, 000 so that it would enable him complete the repairs on Oluaye’s vehicle but Oluaye never paid the balance until the 15th of August 2017 when Oluaye sent one of his agents to pay N100, 000 to the deceased.
The deceased commenced the full repairs on the vehicle immediately. On the 16th of August, 2017, Oluaye brought some policemen from the Special Anti-robbery Squad at Idiroko in Ogun State amongst them is Wasiu Lawal who assaulted the deceased by rough handling him from under the vehicle of Oluaye where the deceased was busy at work in his mechanical workshop at Idiroko in Ogun State.
Immediately the deceased was arrested, our member was informed and he also followed the policemen when the deceased was taken away by the policemen. The said police officers handcuffed the deceased and took him to several location until he was finally taken to the palace of the Alase of Ilase, King John Adewale Olaifa where our member was also present as well.
The king helped the 2 parties, i.e. Oluaye and the deceased to come to a compromise that the deceased would complete the repairs within 2 weeks from that day and Oluaye should pay part of the remaining balance remaining on the contract sum.
Oluaye paid N50, 000 immediately to the deceased and an agreement was written and signed by the parties, Oluaye and the deceased. Alhaji Bakai a friend to the deceased signed the agreement and was witnessed and co-signed by Alhaji Ede at the palace on that day. Oluaye and the policemen went away with several shots being fired in air.
Oluaye and the Policemen later came back inside the palace in which one of the Police officers demanded for the sum of N150, 000 from the deceased as bribe for the deceased person’s bail.
The deceased paid the policemen N40, 000 when the policemen insisted on assaulting and detaining the deceased if does not comply. At this point Wasiu Lawal who was very violent and aggressive threatened to kill the deceased when he said “let me waste him”.
Wasiu Lawal shot the deceased 2 times in his abdomen which caused the death of the deceased. We are therefore urging you sir to bring these perpetrators to book on this dastardly act.
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Our member strongly believes that this act was deliberately done by Oluaye through Wasiu Lawal in revenge against the deceased. This Oluaye is a very notorious thug at Idiroko who perpetrates a lot criminal acts and is never apprehended due to his connivance with these policemen.
Oluaye believes that might is right however we believe that he is wrong that your right is your might. We hope our petition would be thoroughly investigated and this Oluaye’s reign of terror be put to an end at Idiroko in Ogun State.
On October 17, 2017, a Nairaland user who appeared to be Hodewu’s child briefly narrated the incident and rained curse words on Fasola and some other individuals. They urged other users on the platform to support their family’s quest for justice by sharing the post.
FIJ learnt that Fasola has a hotel along Koko Road in Ilashe.
“Ope Ilashe a notorious smuggler in Ipokia LG came and picked my father at home with hired assassin called SARS. They killed him at the palace of John Adewale, [the] Alase of Ilaseland, in the presence of kabiyesi,” the person wrote. “Ope ran away. He went to Eleweeran on Wednesday and returned immediately.”
An Ilaro resident who asked not to be named to safeguard his life also told FIJ: “This man, Engineer Paul “Hodewu was shot dead right in the palace of Alase, Oba John Olaifa. He was picked by SARS, led by Supol Wasiu Lawal on the orders of Ope, and taken to Alase palace, where he was shot dead by Wasiu Lawal.
“This happened in 2017. The case was truncated, Wasiu Lawal was dismissed and charged to court. That was last thing we heard about it, until recently when we learnt that Wasiu Lawal and some other dismissed police officers are part of those they are using to perpetrating their evils. Ope and Alase are dreadful; even as I’m typing this, I’m scared.”
The post Smuggler ‘Ope Ilashe’ Is in Police Custody Over Assassination of FIJ’s Witness. But This Is Not His First Murder Case appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.