Okuneye and Olufunmilayo
| credits: Kunle Falayi
Nearly every resident of Ijebu-Igbo in Ogun State knew Chief Tola Okuneye, according to a motorcyclist that conveyed our correspondent visit to the slain chief’s residence on Wednesday.
It was apparent that the town had yet to recover from the shock of his murder inside St. John’s Anglican Church, Oke-Sopen, a prominently located church in Ijebu-Igbo, last Sunday.
Even the priests of the church were still in shock and obviously edgy when Saturday PUNCH visited the crime scene and attempted to get their reactions.
“I first wanted to run away when I saw the bag you were carrying. One cannot be too careful these days. I was told that the assassins carried bags like this from which they drew out guns. I was not around at the time,” one of them said.
He said he could not speak without the authorisation of his vicar. But the vicar declined comments when he was contacted on the phone.
He said he could not speak without the authorisation of his vicar. But the vicar declined comments when he was contacted on the phone.
When Saturday PUNCH visited the Okuneye’s residence, the family had been playing host to hordes of sympathisers since the incident on Sunday. Some of them sat under a canopy set up in the compound.
“But I say unto you, that ye resist not the evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5: 39)”
That was the last verse of a passage in the Bible that Okuneye was said to have just finished reading to the congregation when his assailants came in, Saturday PUNCH learnt.
His first wife, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Okuneye, is a worker in the church. She said she was going about her duty as an usher during the service when those who took the life of her husband came in, shot in the air and ordered the church members to lie down.
She said, “Initially, two men had tried to come into the church. But because there was a Bible study going on, a barricade was placed at the church entrance.
“The men tried to remove the barricade but they were told to wait. I did not pay any attention to them but other ushers said the men actually looked rough. Those ones must have come to check whether my husband was actually in church or not.
“They came back about 20 minutes later. Bible study was still going on. We heard a gun shot at the church entrance. This was immediately followed by a loud voice that said ‘everybody, lie down!’
“We all went flat on the ground and tried to hide under the church pews. I only heard many footsteps moving towards the altar area. I still did not imagine that they could be after my husband.
“Another shot rang out and they left immediately. I only knew they had killed my husband after we crept out of our hiding and people started shouting that chief had been killed.”
Olufunmilayo still could not believe what she was hearing until she rushed to the front row where her husband of 40 years usually sat and saw him soaked in blood.
He had been killed with a single shot in the head.
The woman sighed, but she was thankful. She said she was thankful for the kind of life her husband lived and where he died.
“My husband died in the presence of his God. He died as a martyr. He was explaining the Bible passage he had just read when he was killed,” she said.
According to her, even though her husband had the choice of living in big cities, he decided to settle down in Ijebu-Igbo and dedicate his life to the development of his hometown.
“He died for his community. He died trying to change his community. Apparently, some people did not like his good works,” she said.
Okuneye’s second wife, Abimbola, told Saturday PUNCH that all the time she had known her husband, he never missed church except when he was out of town.
She said, “I believe my husband is a martyr. If you look at the circumstances of his death, there is no other explanation.
“He died reading from Matthew 5:1-39. He was wearing white. He loved wearing white ensemble including his underwear. He only used multi-colours once in a while.
“When the assassins ordered the congregation to lie down flat, he lied down in front of the altar because he always sat in the front of the church.
“He was a warrior who proved his bravery to the end. He always advised other influential indigenes of Ijebu-Igbo that there was nothing to fear about visiting their hometown.
“He just loved this town and believed that there was nothing wrong in living here permanently and going from here to do his furniture business all over the country.”
Abimbola said there was never any incident that could have made the family suspicious that some people were after his life.
Even though she was not in church when her husband was killed, she said they left home together because she had to attend the service in an affiliated church that morning.
Unknown to Abimbola, she was saying goodbye to her husband for the last time, as they parted, each going to worship in separate churches that day.
Seventy-year-old Okuneye was said to have started his furniture business – which he became widely known for – when he was still quite young.
Our correspondent was told that three of the deceased’s children of were in church when he was killed even though none of them was sitting beside him.
None of them was available for comments as they said they were still in shock.
The family said Okuneye still had many uncompleted projects in different parts of the country.
His corpse is still at the mortuary of the Ijebu-Igbo General Hospital.
However, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, said th case was being investigated.
He said, “The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikemefuna Okoye, has visited the family in company with some officers of the command. He has ordered a thorough investigation.
“The investigation will be headed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of criminal investigation, Mr. Aminu Al-hassan.
“Our next line of action is to go to the scene for forensic investigation. We have information to work with but we appeal to the public to come forward with any information that might aid this investigation.”
Adejobi commiserated with the family, stating that the deceased was a prominent and active member of the Police-Community Relations Committee in Ijebu-Igbo.