Amotekun Corps, the Southwest security network in Nigeria, has arrested a 45-year-old man named Gbenga Ogunfadeke for allegedly chaining and starving his two children to death. The suspect was apprehended on Tuesday in Ibiade, Ogunwaterside Local Government Area of the state. Confirming Ogunfadeke’s arrest on Wednesday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the state commander of Amotekun, David Akinremi, said the suspect locked the children in the house without giving them food and water for over three months, leading to the death of two of his three children.
The suspect allegedly took the action after accusing his children of stealing. Akinremi revealed that the suspect had been maltreating the children aged 16, 17, and 18 since he took custody of them following his failed marriage with their mother, Busola Otusegun. The Amotekun boss said the suspect was arrested following a complaint by his ex-wife.
According to Akinremi, one of the three children came across his aunt in Ibiade where he currently lives with his father and narrated their experience with their father, which led to the death of his two elder siblings – Yusuf Ogunfadeke (18 years) and Dasola Ogunfadeke (17 years) between April and June 2022 in Ijebu-Ode where they were all living with the suspect until he relocated back to Ibiade. The child stated that their father chained and locked them in solitary confinement without food and water for over three months, leading to the death of the two siblings but he miraculously survived the ordeal.
During interrogation, the suspect admitted to putting his children in confinement for months but denied not feeding them and being responsible for their death. The suspect claimed that his action was based on the children’s involvement in stealing, hence the need to prevent them from such criminal action. He also claimed that the two deceased children were taken to the hospital for treatment at different times when they fell ill but unfortunately died in the process.
The Commandant noted that the hospital where the suspect claimed the two children died in Ijebu-Ode could neither be located nor where he allegedly buried them behind a rented apartment he lived in Ijebu-Ode before relocating to his present abode in Ibiade with the third child for possible exhumation. The fact that he refused to make the incidents known to any member of the family also gives cause for concern as the suspect is a herbalist, thus further fueling the suspicion of having killed the deceased for possible rituals.
The Punch reports ,The case been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation with a view to establishing further facts that will facilitate the suspect’s prosecution. The Amotekun Commandant noted that the incident is a clear case of child abuse, which is not acceptable in any form. He called on the public to be vigilant and report any case of child abuse or neglect to the appropriate authorities.