Horror in Oyo community

• Family of six massacred over phone in isolated sugarcane farm, bodies  dumped in river

• Government should just kill us, suspect says, as police nab siblings, one other

By Oluseye Ojo

Deep inside the forest of Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State is Oloba village. A lonely road, which winds through palm tree groves and a large cocoa farm leads to the village.

Before reaching the remote settlement, which is close to a major river, a family of six lived largely away from the bustle of the city.

The landmark junction to Oloba village is at Ejioku, a community between Lalupon and Iyana-Offa on Ibadan-Iwo Road.

From Ejioku, the journey to the community took about 45 minutes by motorcycle. The route passes through stretches of palm trees, cassava farms, and a big cocoa farm, with long portions of the road devoid of human activity. Visitors to the village would have to cross a section of the Ibadan Circular Road, which is under construction, apart from two big rivers that separately have small bridges on them.

Oloba itself is tucked deep into the bush, close to the river that residents variously refer to as Odo Oba, Osun River or Asejire, depending on the side from which it is approached.

It was in the secluded setting that police said a family of six was attacked on September 22, 2026, allegedly by three men, who invaded their home, and armed with a locally made Dane gun, two cutlasses and a club.

The attack, according to the Oyo State Police Command, ended with all six members of the family dead.

The police identified the deceased as Ifeanyi Chukwu, his wife and their four children.

Two brothers – Hammed Akinbami, Ojo Akinbami – and their friend, one Padonu Edward, all said by the police to be from Oloba village, are now in police custody over the alleged murder and robbery.

The police said the suspects allegedly robbed the family of N200,000 cash, a Boxer motorcycle, a Doma machine with chainsaw and a spraying machine.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer for Oyo State, Olayinka Ayanlade, preliminary investigation showed that Ahmed Akinbami allegedly shot the husband, while Ojo Akinbami and Padonu Edward allegedly attacked the wife, hitting her on the head.

The children were also caught up in the attack. The police said the suspects tied two of the children, including a five-year old, by their hands and legs and threw them into the nearby Osun River alive while the remaining members of the family were killed and their bodies disposed of in the same river.

From phone dispute to deadly attack

According to accounts obtained during the investigation, the tragedy may have its roots in a dispute involving a mobile phone.

The disagreement reportedly occurred about four months before the family was attacked, killed and their remains thrown into Osun River.

The phone dispute was said to have been taken before community leaders, where it was reportedly settled. The Chukwus were asked to pay about N50,000 in connection with the damaged phone of Ahmed Akinbami. It was confirmed by the villagers and the police that the Chukwus paid the money.

For a while, there appeared to be an end to the disagreement. But the police would later be confronted with accounts suggesting that the earlier dispute had not completely disappeared.

The police have not publicly established the motive beyond the preliminary findings contained in the statement issued by the command.

What is known is that about 7pm on September 22, the family was attacked in their isolated home.

The first major breakthrough came days later. The police said intelligence was received on October 2 about 5pm concerning the incident.

Detectives were subsequently deployed and visited the scene. Photographs were taken, while several exhibits were recovered.

Among the exhibits were the family’s Boxer motorcycle, one locally made Dane gun, two cutlasses and the club allegedly used during the attack.

The three suspects were arrested and detained. The police said that during interrogation, all three confessed to their involvement in the crime.

Confessions of the suspects

One of the suspects, Ahmed Akinbami, told journalists that the phone dispute was connected to the attack.

According to the account made available during interrogation, the disagreement over the damaged phone had resulted in the payment of N50,000 by the family after community intervention.

But the suspect’s account suggested that the matter did not end there. He acknowledged that six people were killed during the incident and expressed remorse over what happened.

When asked what the government should do for them, Ahmed said the government should kill him and along with the other suspects.

Another suspect, Padonu Edward, gave a different account of his involvement. He said he was from Benin Republic and had lived in Nigeria for about 12 years. He described himself as a farmer and said he was invited by one of the other suspects to collect money. But he admitted hitting the woman on the head with a club.

The third suspect, Ojo Akinbami, denied personally killing anyone. But he admitted tying one of the children and participating in taking the child towards the river. He claimed that he feared being killed himself if he refused to participate.

A community removed from outside world

Away from the interrogation room, the physical setting of Oloba helps explain why the tragedy could unfold with little immediate attention.

The journey from Ejioku to the community is not one that encourages casual movement.

There are no busy streets, shops or clusters of houses characteristic of urban communities. All the houses in the village are mud houses.

When this reporter visited the Oloba village on Wednesday October 7, 2026, findings revealed that the late Ifeanyi Chukwu and his family did not live directly in the village. The family made their abode in their sugarcane farm, which is about one and half kilometres away from the Oloba village

One of the leaders of Oloba Village, Alagba Olugbade Olufemi, of the Akintolu family, told Saturday Sun that the late Chukwu, popularly known as Baba Chike (meaning Chike’s father), was an Igbo man, who obtained land from the late Chief Samuel Oyebode, Mogaji of the Akintolu family, to cultivate sugarcane.

“He lived there with his wife and their four children. I live outside the village. But this incident brought many of us home to assess the development and ensure that the right thing is done so that the name of our village will not continue to be dragged in the mud.

“He came to farm in this village 10 years ago. He also came from somewhere. Some years ago, we discovered that he lived alone with his family in the sugarcane farm. We sent representatives to him.

“The message was simple. He and his family should not live alone in the bush. He should come to Oloba village to live with people. But he refused. He said he was okay in the place. So, we left him there.

“This accounted for why we did not know that something happened to him on time. He was a good man. He would not pick fight with anyone. He minded his own business.

‘Whenever he harvested the sugarcane in his farm, he would take it to Erunmu Market for sale. He would pass through the village in his car to the market. He also had a friend that used to come to help him carry the sugarcane to the market on every market day, if he would not take his own car.

“ So, based on the location of the farm, the deceased family was not surrounded by a large network of neighbours. Their daily interaction with outsiders was also limited.

“The family’s activities were closely connected to farming, particularly sugarcane cultivation.

“One person who regularly had contact with the family was a driver who transported their sugarcane to the Erunmu market.

“ As I was further briefed, it was the driver’s observation that the family had suddenly stopped appearing as usual in the market that helped trigger questions about their whereabouts.”

But it was difficult for the reporter to locate the Oloba village. There is one Oloba village at Papa in Iwo. It was when the reporter got there that he was directed to the Oloba village that can be accessed either through Ejioku or Erunmu.

Osun River holds unanswered questions

For the police, the recovery of the woman’s remains provided an important breakthrough. But the river still holds much of the mystery.

The police said the remains of five other members of the family had yet to be recovered.

As gathered, the recovery of the motorcycle, Dane gun, cutlasses and club might provide police with physical evidence to compare with the suspects’ accounts.

The police also made it known that further investigation of the case would be handled by the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Iyaganku, Ibadan.

The Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Ayodeji Olugbenga, was said to have directed that the matter be thoroughly investigated.

That investigation will be expected to reconcile the accounts given by the suspects and establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

I never taught them violence – Suspects’ octogenarian father

The father of two of the three suspects introduced himself as Akinbami. He is the biological father of Ahmed Akinbami and Ojo Akinbami.

He told Saturday Sun that he had never noticed any behaviour in his sons that suggested they were capable of such an act of killing people.

He claimed that his sons had engaged in different forms of legitimate work, including commercial motorcycle riding, farming and mechanical work.

He expressed shock over their arrest and involvement in the alleged crime.

The father stated that if the court eventually found his two sons and their friend guilty, the three suspects should be promptly executed by the government.

“I am not from this village. I was still a toddler when my father carried me to this village. My father was a hunter. I also grew up to become a hunter. But now, I am a vegetable farmer.

“Originally, we were not from this village. My father brought me to this village. I cannot remember the year. But it has been very long.

“It is even better if government kills them if they are found guilty. This is because they have not been allowing me to have rest of mind

“ As old as I am, I would cultivate vegetables and sell it. The little money I have been making, my children have been stealing the money and they would leave me with nothing.”

Pa Akinbami stated further that Ahmed was a commercial motorcycle rider in Ibadan City, before he sold the motorcycle and returned to the village for farming.

“I tried my best to prevail on him not to sell it, but he insisted and sold the motorcycle.

“ Also, his younger brother, Ojo, was in Ibadan, where he learnt how to repair cars. Sometime ago, his brother went to the city and brought him to the village. He told me that Ojo would no longer be learning the trade again as he had become a professional.

“So, Ojo too stayed back in the village. What he does now is climb palm trees using ropes cut bunches of palm produce in exchange for money.”

Community left with questions

For residents and those familiar with the area, the incident has raised difficult questions.

How could a disagreement over a damaged phone allegedly escalate into the destruction of an entire family?

Why did a dispute that was reportedly settled months earlier resurface with such deadly consequences?

What happened between the settlement of the phone dispute and the alleged attack? And why did the family, living in such an isolated location, become the target?

As gathered, the questions may only be answered conclusively by the police investigation and, ultimately, the courts.

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Ifeanyi Chukwu’s isolated abode

A visit to the scene of the crime showed that the deceased family had a large expanse of sugarcane plantation. The family also planted crops and vegetables for their daily consumption.

But the house, where the family lived was built with roofing sheets. It is the only structure in the bush and very close to the Osun River.

An enquiry was also made on whether Chukwu’s children were enrolled in school. The answer the villagers provided was that they were in school, noting that they transported themselves to the school with their father’s motorcycle. The villagers, who were very cautious while speaking with the reporter, did not provide further information.

How suspects were arrested

Investigation revealed that immediately it was discovered that Ifeanyi Chukwu was missing, the matter was reported to the police.

Sources said detectives were discreetly deployed to the area to crack the riddles.

“One day, Hammed Akinbami was somewhere, and out of pride, he said he wanted Baba Chike. Unknown to him, a policeman in mufti was there. That was how police investigation began until the suspects were tracked and arrested,’ the source said.

Return trip from Oloba village

The return trip from Oloba village was not a smooth one. The motorcycle stopped on the road for more than 10 times as a result of mechanical faults.

A man, who was walking by during one of the stops immediately recognised that the journalist was a stranger in the area. He suspected that the journalist went to the village in connection with the killing of the Chukwus.

Though he did not mention his name, he simply said: “What happened was the failure of parenting. When these children were growing up, they had been committing minor offences and their parents have been condoning them without discipline.

“Did the people you met in the village tell you that one of the suspects was caught some time ago with a dead person’s head? What happened thereafter? The matter was buried under the carpet.

“Did you know that one of the suspects had once shot his father with a locally made gun? But the pellets did not penetrate the man because he is a hunter and he has native insurance. What happened then and what did the suspects’ parents and other people that heard about it in the village do about it,” he queried.