WANTED CORRECTIONAL OFFICER IN PHOTOJOURNALIST’S MURDER CASE COMMITS SUICIDE IN KOGI HOTEL
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
A correctional officer, Adebayo Pelumi, declared wanted over the brutal murder of photojournalist Ayo Aiyepekun, has reportedly committed suicide in a hotel in Lokoja, Kogi State.
Pelumi, an officer of the Nigeria Correctional Service, was said to have checked into the hotel on Wednesday afternoon but was found dead in his room around 1:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Hotel staff discovered his lifeless body during a routine checkout inspection and immediately alerted the police. Law enforcement authorities later identified Pelumi as the prime suspect in the killing of Aiyepekun, a photojournalist with InsideStory online media. His body has since been deposited at the morgue of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja.
Aiyepekun was murdered last Tuesday evening within his residential compound in Lokoja. Eyewitnesses revealed that Pelumi, a neighbour, had lured the victim out of his office on the pretext of assisting with a poultry farm located on the premises.
“At about 8:30 p.m., Adebayo called Ayo to help with something at the poultry. Unaware that someone else was with Ayo at the time, he attacked him with an iron rod and struck him repeatedly until he died,” a colleague of the deceased recounted.
The eyewitness added that he saw Pelumi attempting to hide the body in a deep freezer before loading it into a Hilux van. He quickly raised the alarm, prompting local vigilantes to pursue the fleeing suspect. During the chase, Pelumi’s vehicle was disabled after its tyres were shot at, forcing him to flee on foot and go into hiding.
Confirming the latest development, Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, William Aya, said: “Yes, it is confirmed. The suspect has committed suicide.”
The incident has sent shockwaves through the journalism and security communities, with many calling for a thorough review of mental health and disciplinary processes within security agencies.
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