Fulani stabs driver to death in Ondo, family cries for justice

AT the moment, the police have been unable to locate the whereabouts of the killer of a commercial bus driver, Ajisafe Victor, who was stabbed to death by a suspected Fulani herdsman after a little misunderstanding.

According to the explanation made to our correspondent by wife of the deceased, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Ajisafe, nobody could ascertain why her husband was gruesomely murdered by the unknown man.

The late Ajisafe, who was in his early 30s and hailed from Ondo West LGA, was a prominent member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) working in Ibadan garage, at Road Block area of Akure. He was involved in the unfortunate incident that led to his untimely death last Sunday evening in the hands of a Fulani man, who took to his heels after killing him.

Mrs. Ajisafe said she did not know what led to the misun- derstanding between them, narrating that she was in her house at Ijapo Estate, Akure when her brother-in-law, Dapo called her to rush to the State Specialist Hospital, Akure.

“It was my husband’s brother that let me know that one Fulani stabbed my husband on the neck and was rushed to the hospital. When I got there, my in-laws and friends did not allow me to see him despite all my efforts.

“They later took me back home in their car under the guise that we should be looking for money to take proper care of him. It was when they took me to my mother’s shop at Road Block that they broke the news that he is dead,” she said.

Mother of the victim, Mrs. Ajoyo Ajisafe, told The Guardianthat she was in Jos, Plateau State, where she always goes to buy yam for sale, when her daughter-inlaw called her that his son is dead.

Ajoyo said she abandoned her wares immediately to come home, but was told that his son had been referred to the Trauma Centre in Ondo, their hometown. “It was after I was cajoled to our hometown in Ondo that they finally told me the truth that my son, Victor Ajisafe is dead,” she said.

However, a source who spoke with our correspondent pleading anonymity, revealed that the incident that happened between the deceased and the unknown Fulani man, was a mere misunderstanding.

“It was one of the Fulani’s friends named Usman that told the killer in their native language that Victor was abusing him. This annoyed the Fulani man and he drew his sword from the sheath. He started pursuing him around the garage and when he caught up with him, without hesitating, he stabbed him viciously on the neck.”

The source added that Usman was among those who rescued Victor and rushed him to the hospital, where he finally gave up the ghost.

The deceased family, especially his wife, Oluwatoyin and the mother urged the state government and security agencies to ensure that the killer of their child and husband, was apprehended and prosecuted accordingly.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Femi Joseph, confirmed the incident and noted that Usman had been arrested while his friend, the killer, was still at large.

Joseph said the command had begun thorough investigation into the matter and embarked on efforts to arrest the culprit, adding that Usman, who incited the crisis, would be charged to court if his friend could not be found.