Olalere Michael, a 40-year-old mobile police sergeant has murdered his lover Bamidele Cecilia Oluwatosin in Ilorin before killing himself, leaving his wife and two children behind.
The event took place on Thursday, March 2, on the grounds of the Redemption Model Nursery and Primary School, Agba Dam, Ilorin, which is housed inside the Church of Redemption UMCA.
According to Daily Trust, the late Tosin, said to be a cleaner at the Banquet Hall opposite the Government House, was the mother of Desmond, a pupil of the school who will be celebrating his third birthday on May 12, 2023.
It was gathered that some parents refused to allow their children to attend school on Friday because of the incident which caused panic around the area.
According to residents and shop owners around the school who spoke to the publication, the deceased mobile police officer trailed his lover to the school premises and waited for her to come to pick up her child before opening fire on her at close range.
“The officer was dressed in a camouflage police uniform. He entered the school premises at about a few minutes before 8am in his Toyota Corolla car earlier than his female friend who had brought her son to the school later. Immediately she walked in, he brought out his AK-47 rifle and shot Oluwatosin on the chest three times at close range and she died on the spot. He thereafter shot himself on the throat which blew off some part of his head and the two of them were there in a pool of blood before the police came to evacuate their bodies about one hour later. It was really a gory scene”,
a resident, Mr Olaleye Arodeyo, told Daily Trust.
The police after the shocking incident, denied it was a case of police brutality but rather that of love gone sour between the former lovebirds.
It was further gathered that the late officer with force number F/NO 497093 was attached to one of the aides of the Kwara State Governor but recently left the position. It was while serving at the Government House that he met Oluwatosin.
Residents who spoke on the issue said they have been dating for a while but trouble started when the late Oluwatosin said she was no longer interested in the relationship.
“What we understand is that Oluwatosin had a fiancé abroad whom she had a son for, and who was preparing to come to Nigeria having left for Dublin about a year ago. Because of that, she wanted to end the affair which triggered their frosty relationship and their fatal end,” one of the residents, Mrs Hannah, said.
Unverified reports claimed Olalere had informed a few of his coworkers the day before the incident that he planned to murder someone and then commit suicide.
“But many of them didn’t believe him because he was doing very well as a police officer. He had two houses, one in Iloffa and Omu-Aran, Oke-Ero and Irepodun local government areas of the state. Here in Ilorin, he was staying in the Barrack and had a very beautiful wife and two daughters,” a police source told the publication.
Further information revealed that the late Olalere had made numerous unsuccessful attempts to persuade Oluwatosin to reconsider her decision to call it quits.
Local residents claimed he had recently visited the deceased woman’s family home, where he reportedly stole some electronics and other items he had allegedly purchased for her.
“This was at the height of his frustration over the situation. But Olalere was very much in love with her and I believe that was why he killed her and shot himself,” Mr Bello, another resident of the area, said.
A female provision seller in the area said;
“Most times, when the man (Olalere) is around, they used to come to my shop to buy things. I never knew he was a police officer because he doesn’t wear his uniform and seldom comes down from the car. But from their disposition, you could see that he truly loves her. This is very sad. Oluwatosin should be in her 30s and a very beautiful woman. It was after the incident we learnt that she had a fiancé abroad who was coming to Nigeria,” she added.
Their bodies have been placed at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital mortuary, according to Ajayi Okasanmi, the police command’s spokesperson (UITH).
“What we can establish now is that the two of them were lovers but at a point, they had a misunderstanding which led to the mobile police officer trailing her to the school, shot her and also killed himself in the process. It has nothing to do with police brutality. But the Commissioner of Police, Paul Odama, has ordered investigation of this unfortunate incident. No arrest has been made yet. But I can assure you that the report of the investigation will be made public as soon as it is ready,”
Okasanmi added.
