Rumours are that He was asked to testify in a fraud case so they killed him. Who will ever
have the nerve to do the right things . RIP. Mike Ajari. Brunnel Energy.
Mike Ajari, a sleepy street in Sabo area of Ojodu, Lagos on Tuesday witnessed a gory killing that shook the entire area.
After the close of work on the fateful day, the victim, Felix Adebayo, an
accountant with Brunnel Energy, a foreign human resources and
consultancy firm based in Victoria Island, Lagos, had returned to his
residence at No 7, Mike Ajari Street, where neighbours said he had lived
for close to six years.
As he approached the gates in his official car, however, he was oblivious of the danger that lurked in
the corner. Unknown to him, a man had laid an ambush for him at the
entrance to the house where he lived.
A neighbour who pleaded not to be named for security reasons, said as he came down from
the Nissan car and proceeded to open the gate, the stranger walked up to
him, pretending to have something to discuss with him. Then suddenly,
he pulled a pistol and shot him in the neck.
A co-resident, who also pleaded anonymity for the same reason, said, “We
were in the house and preparing to sleep around 9.45 pm when we heard
the sound of a gunshot. We all rushed out to see what was happening,
only to get to the gate and found Mr Adebayo struggling in a pool of
blood.”
It was gathered that as soon as he was shot, his attacker entered Adebayo‘s car and zoomed off. And since then, all the
efforts to retrieve the car have been abortive.
Neighbours rushed out only to find Adebayo gasping. “We kept shouting his name but
there was no response. He continued to bleed profusely,” a resident
said.
Confusion was said to have ensued as neighbours and passers-by made frantic efforts to save his life. Unfortunately, he he
gave up the ghost there and then.
The attention of the policemen at Grammar School Police Station, Ojodu was drawn to the
dastardly act. The policemen were said to have responded promptly and
took the corpse to the morgue of Isolo General Hospital, Lagos.
”We had to take the body to Isolo General Hospital mortuary due to our
inability to raise some money required to keep the body at the Lagos
State University Teaching Hospital mortuary. But later, the body was
moved back to the Ikeja mortuary and the autopsy had already been done,”
a family source said. It was a tragic end to the promising career of
the 43-year-old employee of the oil and gas company, who only three
months ago marked the christening of his youngest child with pump and
circumstance. “His eldest child is two years old and he did the naming
of his youngest child three months ago,” said a resident who identified
himself simply as Olu.
A resident of the area told Saturday Punch that a few hours before the incident, three strange men
in black cloths were seen surveying the area. Some people said they saw
them making calls on their mobile phones.
Associates of the late accountant described him as an easy-going fellow who would not hurt a fly.
He was survived by his wife, with two children and an aged mother. ”The
death has thrown the family into mourning because he was the breadwinner
of the family. Three of his younger ones are still in school,” a source
close to the family said.
His younger brother, Gbenga Adebayo who described the death as ‘shocking’ said that family members
were learning to accept their fate. “He was the breadwinner of the
family and we believe he had acted well his own part. What can we do? It
is only God that can avenge for someone,” he said.
His wife, Mrs Tayo Adebayo, who was surrounded by sympathisers on Thursday
was speechless. “What can I say? She asked rather rhetorically. “I have
handed everything over to God. It is only God that can judge,” she said.
His co-tenants told our correspondent that he started living in the house as a bachelor.
“He was here before he got married. After marriage, he continued to live
here. We are like one family and we are all touched by his death,” the
landlord of the house, who simply identified herself as Adesuwa said. As
learnt, Adebayo chose to live in Lagos because of his job, leaving his
wife and children in Ibadan, Oyo State. “He goes to Ibadan to see his
family every weekend,” said a co-tenant who did not want his name in
print.
The news of his death was said
to have been broken to the
members of his family as well
as his employers the
following day. His wife, who is nursing a three-month-old baby, was
said to have collapsed like a pack of cards, while his siblings also
cried uncontrollably. Sorrow was also said to have enveloped the office
when the news of his assassination was broken to his employers.
The office, where he was said to have occupied a strategic position before
his death, was said to be helping the police to unravel the mystery
beside his assassination.
When our correspondent called at he office on Tuesday, efforts to speak with some of his colleagues
yielded no fruit. A foreigner and director of the company who pleaded
not to be named, said the company would not want to comment on the
tragic incident untl the police had concluded their investigations. He
said, “Brunel Energy is unable comment at this stage because the matter
is in the hands of the police.”
The director also said they had their lawyer’s instruction not to say anything so as not to
jeopardise the investigations being carried out by the police. “We do
not want anything to affect police findings,” the director said. He also
would not volunteer a comment on the rumour that Adebayo uncovered a
major fraud in the company shortly before he was killed.
It was also rumoured that while those who allegedly perpetrated the fraud
had been nailed and arrested, Adebayo was about being used as the
prosecution witness anytime the perpetrators of the fraud were made to
face the wrath of the law. ”He has a lot of facts and documents and I
want to believe he was to be used as a key prosecution witness. But
before they could do that, he was cleared out of the way,” the source
who sought anonymity said.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba said he was not aware of the killing when
Saturday Punch contacted him on Wednesday. He promised to contact the
appropriate police division for necessary information relating to the
incident. However, several calls made to his telephone on Thursday were
not answered.
It was gathered that arrangements were being made to bury the slain accountant at his residence in Ibadan.
