Apprentice Murders Boss, Demands 2M Ransom _Widow cries out for Justice
Mrs. Ruth Abosede Afolabi, wife of late electrician Mr. Afolabi, has narrated how her husband's favourite apprentice, identified as Abdulmujib, allegedly murdered him and later demanded ransom from the family.
Speaking with
Journalists at her residence in the Sango area in Ilorin on Saturday evening, the grieving widow disclosed that her husband left home for work on June 7, 2026, unaware that it would be his final journey.
According to her, the suspect had lived with the family and was treated like a son.
"We loved him like our own child, and my husband always showed him genuine affection. I never imagined he would be the one to take his life," she said.
Mrs. Afolabi explained that repeated attempts to reach her husband on the phone proved unsuccessful, prompting her to begin searching for him late into the night. During the search, the family discovered the bicycle, that Mr Afolabi took to the new site for work was parked in front of their church, raising suspicion that those behind his disappearance were familiar with the family.
The following day, the family received a message claiming that Mr. Afolabi had been kidnapped, with the abductors demanding a ransom of N2 million for his release.
After pleading with the kidnappers, they reportedly accepted N100,000 and an additional N20,000 for transportation fare from Oyo to Ilorin.
However, after waiting in vain for his return, the family received another call two days later demanding an additional N400,000. At that point, the matter was reported to Civil Defence and the Police.
According to the widow, security agencies assured the family that efforts were underway to rescue her husband. Investigations led the Civil Defence to track the phone number and bank account being used by the suspect to collect ransom payments.
The trail reportedly led investigators to an Opay account and subsequently to another account where the funds had been transferred. Further tracking eventually led to the arrest of the suspect while he was attempting to sell the deceased's phone and allegedly use funds withdrawn from his late employer's account to purchase an iPhone 7.
During interrogation, the suspect allegedly confessed that he had murdered his boss on the same day he disappeared before proceeding to extort money from the family under the guise of a kidnapping.
According to the confession, the suspect lured the deceased to an uncompleted building at Kangile, claiming that an electrical job had been secured at the site.
"He said, I told my boss to inspect the building and told him the owner was around.
Unknown to his boss, he was hiding inside the building. He attacked him with a large wooden stick and repeatedly struck him on the head until he stopped breathing," the suspect reportedly confessed.
He further stated that he returned to the scene the following day to confirm that his victim was dead before initiating ransom demands from the family.
The family of the deceased has confirmed the suspect's arrest and called for justice to be served.
Comments