Adebayo Pelumi, a correctional officer who was declared wanted for the murder of a photojournalist, Ayo Aiyepekun, in Lokoja, Kogi State, reportedly committed suicide.
Pelumi, who worked for the Nigeria Correctional Service, was claimed to have checked into a hotel on Wednesday afternoon and was discovered dead in the room at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
A hotel employee discovered his body while performing standard cleanup at checkout.
According to a hotel employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity, management immediately notified the police, who identified the deceased as the main suspect in Aiyepekun’s murder.
Aiyepekun, a photojournalist with InsideStory online media, was killed last Tuesday evening in his compound, allegedly by his neighbour, Pelumi.
According to an eyewitness report from someone who worked for InsideStory online media, where the late Aiyepekun worked, he was at the office with the deceased, editing some videos and photographs, when the suspect called the victim to assist him out on his chicken farm, which was located within the same complex.
The source stated that the suspect called him around 8:30 p.m., but he was unaware that Ayo was not the only person in the office, and when Ayo went out to meet Adebayo, he repeatedly hit him with an iron and killed him there.
An eyewitness reported seeing the suspect place the body in a deep freezer before transporting it to his Hilux van, leading him to alert authorities.
Local vigilantes were notified and pursued the fleeing culprit, who crashed his car after they shot at his tires. He then fled by foot and went into hiding.
William Aya, the state Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed the latest development: “Yes, it is confirmed; the suspect has committed suicide.”
