Residents of Halleluyah Estate in Ido Osun in Egbedore Local Government Area of Osun State have apprehended an operator of a drinking joint identified as Sikiru Adeosun, inside a bush at Gaa Fulani area of the estate while fleeing his residence after allegedly killing his girlfriend.
Adeosun was caught around 7:00am after fleeing his house at Agunbelewo area of Osogbo , where he had allegedly beaten to death a woman identified as his girlfriend, whose name could not be ascertained.
A resident of the estate , who identified himself as Seun Oloruntoba, told our correspondent on Friday that residents of the estate observed that Adeosun was wearing a pair of shorts and a wet T- shirt that also had blood stains.
He said that when Adesoun was accosted, he was incoherent; adding that this raised suspicion and residents thought that he was a thief.
Leaders of the community were said to have prevented the residents from lynching him and they took him to Dada Estate Police Station , where they discovered from the police that the suspect had been declared wanted for allegedly killing his girlfriend , who was also his salesgirl at a drinking joint he owned.
Oloruntoba said, “I heard a noise at around 7:15am on Monday morning and I went out.
“ I saw residents of our estate gathered round a man , who they said was a thief and was caught hiding inside the bush.
“ We asked of his name and he told us. We asked him what he was doing inside the bush very early in the morning , but he could not say anything meaningful.
“ So , our people thought he was a thief and they wanted to beat him.
“ We are vigilant in the area because armed robbers come to raid houses there frequently. So, we decided to sensitise every resident to challenge any stranger seen within our vicinity.
“We took him to Dada Estate Police Station and it was there we were told that his neighbours had come to report him at the station that he killed his girlfriend, who is from Benue State.
“ That was how we helped the police to arrest him without even knowing that he had committed a grievous crime . ”
Another resident, Kehinde Olaniyi, also said residents of the estate were able to catch Adeosun because of their vigilance and their resolve to always challenge any strange face noticed in their area.
Olaniyi explained that it was possible that the deceased fought and inflicted injuries of Adeosun before he beat her to death.
He said that the suspect, who fled his residence at Agunbelewo, might have entered into the bush and thought that he would find a way to escape, but he was caught eventually.
He said the name of the victim was not known, but it was further gathered that the deceased doubled as Adeosun’s salesgirl and girlfriend.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs. Folashade Odoro, confirmed the incident via a text message to our correspondent.
A police source told our correspondent that the case had been transferred from Dada Estate Police Station to the Criminal Investigation Department.