Police declare Togolese chef wanted for Ondo chief’s murder

The Lagos State police command has vowed to apprehend the killer of the Lotin of Ondo and Chairman of Credit Switch Technology, Chief Ope Bademosi at his residence at 3A, Onikoyi Road, Parkview Estate, Lagos. Bademosi was killed in the bloodiest manner by his Togolese steward three days after he was hired and brought in from Ondo State to serve as a chef.

The police have arrested two persons in connection with the crime. They are being interrogated. Although it could not be ascertained what led to the killing, sources said the police recovered the weapon allegedly used for the murder as well as blood stained clothes belonging to the chef, who is said to have fled.

The Lagos State police spokesman, Chike Oti, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), said detectives have started sniffing around. The Homicide section of the command has also put out a be-on-the-lookout alert on him.

“What I can assure you is that the killer would be arrested and brought to justice. Our men are everywhere now with a view to tracking the killer. We have recovered the knife used for the murder and the blood stained clothes worn by the suspect. We are on his trail. Two persons have been arrested and are being questioned”.

According to intelligence gathered by The Guardian, the chef, whose name is only identified as Sunday, sneaked into the bedroom of his boss, Bademosi, and slipped a knife into his heart on Wednesday.

Neighbours’ attention were drawn to the murder, when a member of the household raised the alarm. The Guardian learnt that the chef gained entry through the kitchen to which he had the keys.

“This will be the third time we have had Togolese attacks in the estate, and we have had two casualties – Mrs. Adeleke’s daughter last year and this one. Also, we had Fasade’s attempted murder last year. We must implore all residents to desist from hiring these foreign nationals,” a member of the residents’ association stated.

A friend to the deceased, who preferred anonymity, said: “A picture of the suspect in military uniform was uncovered after the act. The wife of the deceased went out in the morning, before she returned, the man had been killed. Ope is a great loss to us. He opens doors for his friends. We will miss him greatly.”

Meanwhile, briefing newsmen yesterday, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ikoyi Division, Lagos, SP Mustapha Tijani, said “efforts have been intensified towards tracking down the cook who is at large.”

Yesterday, the police in a notice declared the chef wanted as parts of efforts taken to apprehend him. The notice reads: “The culprit is currently at large, anybody with any useful information should contact the nearest police station.”

Narrating how the incident happened, one of the family’s neighbour told newsmen: “I heard a scream from the wife, so I ran outside to their flat and saw her screaming outside with people holding her as she said that her husband had been murdered. When we got inside, we saw the man in a pool of blood with the volume of music increased to the highest level. Already we had called the attention of the estate police.

“According to the wife, she said she left her husband very early in the morning to do some transactions in the bank. On her way back, she called her husband and couldn’t hear what he was saying as his words were barely cohesive, and was just muttering words before the call dropped. She attempted to call him back but he wasn’t picking up his phone. On getting home, the security was still asleep and couldn’t even respond to her car horns till she got down from her car, to bang on the security’s window.

“But unfortunately, on entering, she met her husband lying in a pool of his own blood and couldn’t find the cook who just resumed work on Sunday anywhere. That was when she screamed out for help and sent the security to help her run to see if he can still apprehend the cook. Perhaps because of fear, the security man who was just employed on Sunday as well also took to his heels upon the news that his new boss had been murdered.”

A Homicide Investigation Team officer on anonymity said preliminary investigation showed the cook committed the act. “After committing the act, the guy went to the toilet and pulled off the white uniform meant for cooks he was wearing because it was all stained with blood. He also left the knife he used inside the toilet there. If you see the knife, it’s a very strong, long and sharp knife that could only be authorised for military personnel.

“Afterwards, he ransacked the whole apartment and carted away all valuables he could lay his hands on including money and the deceased phone. What baffles us more is that no one seems to know anything about him because he was only employed a few days ago and brought from Ondo to resume just this last Sunday. And they only know him by his first name, which is Sunday.”

“Again, we went through his things and found some old pictures of him putting on a camouflage belonging to Republic of Benin military. Also, he was in a group picture with all of them wearing Benin Republic military uniform, which suggests that he could be an ex-serviceman in the Benin Republic.”