'I Have No Hand In Bizman's Kidnap'

The chairman of Palm Kernel Buyers Association in Ado- Odo Otta, Ogun State. Has reacted to the story on the crime page of Wednesday, 21 March, 2012 with the caption, “How I Escaped From Ritualist, Victim Recounts Ordeal”

Speaking with Crime Watch, Adebisi Ajiboye said, “ how could I have instructed people to kill my colleague, Liasu Sakiru for ritual? Anybody can mention my name. He is a brother and his father and my late father were friends. He lives at the back of my compound at Ado- Odo Otta, Ogun State”.

“There was a problem concerning land at Illisa and we could not go there and before Ido-Ilehin there is a place called Akasun, the Egun people reside there and they didn’t want to see the Yoruba. At Idolehin, we used to drop money for the Egun people and majority of them deal in palm oil”.

“ All the Yoruba have moved to Ado-Odo Otta and they have looted our palm kernel. As we cannot enter Akasun we decided to go to the CDA chairman of Egun people at Isanyin, Mr Idowo Hopo, since we also have Egun and Yoruba as members, five of us Walihu Liasu, relations of Liasu Sakiru, Lukmon Suleiman, Ismaila Musa, led by me went to appeal to them”. For me, I do not buy there because I am a licensed buying agent, so I buy un-cracked kernel.

“ As the chairman of the association, when we got there we said we weren’t bothered about land matter that they should allow us to carry our palm kernel. After the meeting, I was at Igbesa when one of our member Jimoh Akinola, said did you hear that Sakiru Liasu went to the farm and beaten seriously. He reported how it happened at the meeting. What surprised me was that on Tuesday 21 March, I learnt policemen from Ado-Odo Otta came to my house and the following day, I went there and I was told to make statement and I was alleged to have gone to Ido- Ilehin to give them N20,000 and two bottles of schnapps. I was charged to court same day for felony. I pleaded not guilty after which I was released on bail”.

However, the victim who escaped from ritualist faulted Ajiboye’s claim saying, “ he lied because it was CDA deputy chairman at Isanyin that told me point blank that Ajiboye instructed them to deal with me”.