Agency report.
Tragedy has struck the Aiyepeku family for the second time in three weeks, as Chief James Aiyepeku, father of murdered photojournalist Ayobami Aiyepeku, has died,reportedly from a stroke brought on by the shock of his son’s killing.
Sources said Chief Aiyepeku passed away on Tuesday, August 12, at the family home in Lokoja, Kogi State.
Our correspondent recalls that his son, Ayobami, was brutally murdered on July 22 in Lokoja, allegedly by a colleague, Oluwapelumi Adebayo.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, August 13, at the family residence, Mr. Timothy Aiyepeku, Ayobami’s elder brother, said their father never recovered emotionally from the tragedy.
“On Wednesday, August 6, after rushing to finalise arrangements for the release of Ayobami’s corpse for burial, I returned home to learn that my father had collapsed and was hospitalised. “Although he showed signs of recovery, his condition deteriorated, and he died on August 12,”Timothy recounted
Timothy alleged that there may be more to Ayobami’s death than meets the eye, pointing to the disappearance of both Ayobami’s phone and that of the suspected killer, who allegedly took his own life.
He appealed to the police to intensify their investigation.
“We believe the police can deliver justice; they just need to commit the necessary resources to uncover the truth,” he said, adding that the family is holding onto their faith that God will ultimately avenge Ayobami’s death.
Earlier, the Kogi State Police Command’s spokesperson, Superintendent of Police (SP) Williams Ovye-Aya, named Oluwapelumi Adebayo, a fellow photojournalist, as the prime suspect in Ayobami’s killing. According to the police, Adebayo murdered on July 22.
Ovye-Aya further disclosed that the suspect’s body was found in a Lokoja hotel room hours after police launched a manhunt for him on July 23, in what investigators believe was a suicide, saying that investigations into the case has commenced.
NAN.
