How traditional ruler’s agents cut off my left heel tendon, Witness tells court

Mr. Muritala Alimi, an indigene of Aagba village in the Surulere area of Oyo State, narrated on Thursday how he nearly lost his life when Oba Solomon Akinola allegedly ordered his agents to cut off the tendon of his left heel.

Alimi, a motorcyclist, was testifying in a case of alleged attempted murder, assault, robbery, and land grabbing instituted against Akinola, the Oloko of Oko, and 14 others at the Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ogbomoso.

According to the witness, he was conveying carpenters who were working at various sites in Tropical Culture Farm at Aagba with his Boxer motorcycle when he was attacked by people believed to be working on the orders of the traditional ruler.

He identified Timothy Aderinto, Matthew Paimo, and Sheriff Adam, among others now at large, as those who carried out the attack.

Alimi said that the defendants broke his arm and hit him with clubs on his head.

He further said that the injury caused him to bleed through his left ear, adding that they also robbed him of his two mobile phones worth N8,000 and N4,000, respectively, totaling N12,000.

He said that Alimi, Aderinto, Paimo, and Adam later took him to Oloko’s palace, where the royal father directed them to break his arms completely, an action that, he said, left his arm broken.

The witness also identified Chiefs Jimoh Asimiyu and Sunday Aderinto among the people in the palace with the oba.

He said that the men also cut off the tendon on his left heel.

In her own testimony, one Mrs. Funmilayo Olaniyan said that on May 10, 2021, a group of men, heavily armed with guns, machetes, and axes, claiming to have been sent by Oloko, invaded the Aagba community.

Olaniyan also identified Paimo, Aderinto, and Adam, who were among the defendants in the dock.

“I saw it when the oba’s agents macheted Pastor Omilabu Olusegun.

“They later approached my house, broke my door, and stole my two goats, six rabbits, eight chickens, and three kegs of palm oil.

“I fled the village for nine days, just like other residents,” Olaniyan told the court, adding that by the time she returned, her entire house had been emptied, as everything had been stolen.

She further stated that though there had been problems between the two communities—Aagba and Oko—for a long time, the past kings of Oko had never been as brutal as the present one, who, she said, had been sending his agents to kidnap people.

Another witness in the matter, Mr. Hamid Alimi, said that he received a call on May 10 from Sheriff Adam and Jimoh Asimiyu that his brother had been kidnapped and was on the verge of being killed at Oloko’s palace.

He said that after pleading with them, his brother was eventually released, albeit with a broken arm, bleeding ears, and a lacerated ankle, leaving him almost dead.

Alimi further stated that he quickly rushed his brother to Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, where he spent three days.

Also, one Mr. Atanda Akinwale said that he was physically present when the traditional ruler and his agents demolished the buildings within Tropical Culture Limited on May 10, 2021.

Akinwale identified the agents as Adam, Aderinto, Paimo, Rafiu Ganiyu, Adejare Adeleru, Zaccheus Adeleru, Sunday Aderinto, Jimoh Asimiyu, and Samson Ogunmola.

“In the afternoon of that day, all the people mentioned above invaded and destroyed Aagba village. They also destroyed my cement and motorcycle.

“Also, the same set of people kidnapped Chief Olusola Agbebi, the Otun of Aagba, and carried him to Oloko’s palace, where he was dealt with.

“As if these were not enough, the people returned to kidnap me to Oloko’s palace, where I was tied down and dragged on the ground on the oba’s order.

“They dropped me behind a police station, where I was eventually taken to the hospital.

“The doctor later informed me that I had suffered multiple rib fractures as a result of the assault,” Akinwale said.

The defence counsel, Mr. M.O. Folorunsho, thereafter requested an adjournment from the court.

Folorunsho said that he needed to get some documents that would be useful in cross-examining the witnesses.

Justice K.A. Adedokun consequently adjourned the matter till January 17, 2024, for the continuation of the trial.

NAN recalls that the indigenes of Aagba, as well as Dr. Isaac Abiodun, Chairman of Tropical Culture Farm, had instituted the suit against the traditional ruler and the 14 defendants, following persistent attacks on them.

The plaintiffs had told the court that they had previously secured a court judgement declaring them as the rightful owners of the land.