No fewer than six people had been reportedly killed in Pele community, in Ondo State, over a protracted family land dispute, involving Omotoso extended family members.
According to reports gathered from the community, the land dispute among the Omotosho extended family members had been on since 2016, after the death of the patriarch of the family known as Pa Omotosho Ebunpo Gabriel, a successful farmer and businessman who was said to have left the disputed land behind as inheritance to his children.
According to an anonymous family source, the Omotosho extended family is made up of three sub-family units, with each laying claim to the ownership of the land, which is about 200 acres.
It was gathered that the late patriarch, Omotosho Ebunpo Gabriel, was a polygamist with three wives and ten children. He was reportedly to have died intestate, without preparing his will and giving clear details of how his inheritance should be shared among his family, especially the children.
The absence of will and clear details about how his inheritance should be shared after his death led to a serious Imbroglio, leading to a firece family squabble and bad blood among his children.
It was learnt that the first wife and her children, who are the eldest, are claiming that they are the real owners of the land and other inheritances left by the deceased, since it was their mother that he was married legally by him, thereby denying other children and their mothers the right of access and joint ownership of the properties.
It was learnt that all efforts to resolve the matter by the traditional leadership of Pele community were abortive, as the first wife and her children remained uncooperative and admant on their stand.
Information gathered revealed that when all efforts for peaceful and amicable resolutions failed, the children resulted in self-help and extra judicial ways to address the matter.
Using this unconventional means, it was gathered that the family resorted to sponsoring assassination against one another, an unhealthy development which so far, had led to the death of six children who were either murdered brutally or poisoned by unknown persons suspected to be hiredassassins. There were also some who were said to have been killed through diabolical spiritual attacks.
According to reports, the first casualty of this unhealthy family squabble was Omotosho Abayomi, who was suspected to have been killed in 2017, through poison. This was followed by the death of another, a female known as Omotosho Yemisi, who was said to have been murdered in a gruesome manner by some unknown assailants who butchered her to death in Osogbo town where she was leaving. Another casualty of an assassination attack was Omotosho Rotimi Ademola, who was said to have died in September 2023 as a result of the attack against him by some unknown assailants. It was gathered that, Omotosho Rotimi Ademola relocated to Okitipupa, another town not too distant from Ondo town, his native town. His assailants, however, were said to have traced him to the new location and succeeded in carrying out on him, a brutal attack that left him half dead. He was said to have been found almost lifeless by some good Samaritans, who provided help by rushing him to a hospital in a bid to save his life. Rotimi Ademola however, did not survive the attack, as he was said to have given up the ghost in the hospital, five weeks, after his admission due to complications and aftermath effects of the attack on him.
The family source said, “The dispute has become bloody and brutal as six members of the family, so far, had been killed over it since the family war began in 2016. Two of these, Yemisi and Rotimi Ademola, were murdered in gruesome manner by suspected hired assassins, and one, involving Abayomi was through poison”, he said.
“In fact, the two most pathetic murder cases were the ones involving Yemisi Omotoso and her brother, Omotosho Rotimi Ademola, who is the eldest son of the family. Last year, August, 2023, Rotimi Ademola was traced to Okitipupa township, where he had relocated . He was attacked their by people suspected to be hired assassins. According to the report, we got the assailants left him half-dead, believing they had finished him off. He was later found by some people who took him to hospital. But, sadly, he could not make it because of the gravity of the attack on him. He later died five weeks after he was admitted to the hospital. His corpse was later brought home for us in Ondo town to bury. It was sad a development. “
“Same for his sister, Yemisi Omotosho, who was gruesomely murdered by unknown assailants at Oloruntele community in Osogbo town. This sad incident happened in 2020 before Rotimi Ademola’s murder. These assailants butchered her to death. Meanwhile, before these two cases, precisely in 2017, one child, Omotosho Abayomi had been killed through poison by people suspected to be within the family. And in this year alone, another three children had died under a mysterious condition through diabolical festish attacks. One of these was Omotosho Segun who died by barking like a dog. Another one, Abajigi died in April, this year, shouting from his sleep. Yet, another one just died now. So far, six people had lost their lives on this unfortunate case and there seems to be no end in sight over the case, as the warring parties are still brewing for war, sending threats and counter threats to one another”, he lamented.
The family source said that because of the dangerous dimension, the intractable family dispute is taking, the traditional leadership of Pele community where the land is located, have reported the case officially to the police for investigation.
“When the family crisis was taking a very fearful and dangerous dimension, capable of causing serious crisis in the community, as tension has already began to heighten among the people of the community, as they are beginning to take side with the warring camps, the traditional leadership, including the head of the community and his palace chiefs, sensed it could degenarate to a serious crisis which can inflame the community. Therefore, they had to be proactive by reporting the case to the police officially. Currently, the police are investigating the case, particularly the assassination cases and continuous threats of attacks, “he said.
To confirm, his statement, checks by our newspaper at the police office in the community, confirms that the case has received their attention.
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