By: Akinpelu Johnson
A lady, Temitope, and her boyfriend have been arrested by operatives of the Lagos Police Command over an attempt to strangle an 80-year-old man inside the Alaketu of Ketu Palace, Lagos.
The incident, which occurred on Tuesday night inside the palace, saw the Eleku of Ketuland, Pa Bello, narrowly escape death as he battled with the female assailant. She had tied an electric wire around the elderly man’s neck while he was asleep.
Narrating his ordeal, Chief Lateef Bello said he was lying on the bed around 9 PM, shortly after his daughter had left for her residence, when someone entered the room and sat on his bed.
“My daughter had just helped me warm some soup and had left for her residence.
“I was lying on the bed when someone entered, sat on the bed, grabbed my neck, and tied a wire around it. I began to struggle with the wire with my two hands and, at the same time, shouted for help. There was no light at the time, and the generator in the compound was being used to pump water.
“Luckily, the generator went off, and people outside heard my cries for help. It was at that moment that my assailant, who I realized was a woman, left me and ran away.
“The wire was still on my neck, and blood had started oozing from my mouth,” Chief Bello narrated.
Chief Bello, who was visibly in pain and had a bandage around his neck at the time of narrating his ordeal, suggested that the kinship tussle in Ketuland might have prompted the attack. He claimed aggrieved parties were intent on causing chaos.
Meanwhile, one of those who came to the rescue of the 80-year-old man, Prince Rasheed Adesanya, a resident of the palace, explained:
“Whenever we are choosing a new king, the process often begins with a court case. Currently, there is a legal case between Prince Babajide Adekoya Adefowora and Akeem Oluwo of Agbo Ketu.
“The town has chosen Prince Babajide Adekoya Adefowora, but Akeem is dissatisfied. In Ketuland, only one ruling house, the Oshokeji Atesimara Ruling House, is entitled to the Alaketu’s throne. Historically, no Adeona has ever ascended the throne.
“On Tuesday, I was at the backyard when the generator suddenly stopped working. I stepped out to check what had gone wrong when I heard Eleku’s cry for help.
“I rushed to his room and perceived the smell of cigarettes. I found Chief Bello on the floor with a wire tied around his neck. Baba was crying, ‘They want to kill me; they want to kill me.’ He said it was a lady.
“I didn’t have my phone with me; otherwise, I would have taken a photo of Baba on the floor with the wire around his neck. I quickly untied the wire and began to search the premises. The gate was locked, so no one could leave.
“While searching, we found a lady called Tope upstairs smoking. I asked her, ‘What are you doing here? You want to tell me you’re not aware of what is going on?’ She denied knowing anything.
“She has a boyfriend who frequently visits her at the palace. When he arrived later, he claimed she hadn’t told him she was at the palace. However, others confirmed seeing the two together earlier that day.
“We discovered that part of an electric wire had been cut, and it matched the one used to strangle Baba. The mark where the wire was cut was fresh and visible. Tope and her boyfriend are now in police custody, though both deny involvement in the incident.
“We cannot say with certainty whether the attack is connected to the kinship tussle until Tope discloses who sent her on this deadly mission,” Prince Adesanya added.
Another witness, Samuel Taiwo, also shared his account:
“I was assisting in taking care of Baba Eleku alongside his daughter. After she left that night, Baba went into his room.
“We were pumping water using the generator in the compound when the generator suddenly stopped working. At that moment, we heard Baba’s cry for help.
“The lady, Tope, usually comes here. I don’t know what she does for a living. If the generator hadn’t stopped working, she might have succeeded in killing the old man.
“When we entered Baba’s room, we perceived the smell of cigarettes. We searched the premises and found Tope upstairs smoking. She denied any involvement.
“On closer examination of the surroundings, we discovered she had cut part of the electric wire in the palace. We compared it to the one used to strangle Baba, and they matched. She and her boyfriend are now in police custody,” Taiwo concluded.
Following the near-death escape of Chief Bello Lateef, the Eleku of Ketuland, the Oba-elect of Ketuland, Prince Adekoya Babajide Adefowora, has called for government intervention and protection from threats.
In a voice note received by Newslife from the Oba-elect, who resides abroad, he narrated how his late father, Oba Adeyemi Adedayo Adefowora, was murdered in 1999 in Abule Egba, Lagos.
“My name is Prince Adekoya Babajide Adefowora, the son of the late Oba Adeyemi Adedayo Adefowora. My father was murdered on November 9, 1999, at Awori Bus Stop, Abule Egba, Lagos.
“I am calling on the government and Nigerians to help me. This situation is becoming unbearable. The same way they killed my father, they now want to kill Baba Eleku.
“Four days ago, while Baba was sleeping, a lady entered his room and tried to strangle him with a wire. It was only because the generator stopped working that people heard his cries for help.
“I have been trying to return to Nigeria, but the so-called Akeem is doing everything to stop me. He is desperate to become king, but he is not from the royal family. There has never been a time in Ketuland’s history when his family has ascended the throne.
“I am begging everyone to help me. Nigerians, please help me. They nearly killed Baba. He was bleeding from his mouth, and we had to rush him to the hospital. I need your help. Thank you,” the Oba-elect concluded in a solemn tone.
