Father arrested for ‘locking up, starving two children to death’ in Ogun

Operatives of the Ogun State Security Network, also known as Amotekun corps, have arrested Gbenga Ogunfadeke for allegedly locking up and starving his children to death.

In a statement on Wednesday, David Akinremi, state commander of the Amotekun corps, said the suspect was arrested following complaints received from his former wife.

Akinremi said the 45-year-old father alleged that he confined the children to discipline them for stealing.

He said the suspect locked up his three children without food or water for three months which allegedly caused the death of two of them.

The Amotekun commander said one of the children survived the ordeal and narrated the incident.

“It happened between April and June 2022 in Ijebu-Ode where they were all living with the suspect until he relocated back to Ibiade,” he said.

“According to the child, their father chained and locked them in solitary confinement without food and water for over three months which led to the death of the two siblings but he miraculously survived the ordeal.”

The Amotekun commander said the suspect, during interrogation, confessed that he locked up the children for months but claimed he fed them and was not responsible for their death.

The suspect also claimed that he took the children to the hospital when they suffered an illness but they died in the process.

“What is however curious about his defence is that the hospital where he claimed the two children died in Ijebu-Ode could neither be located,” he said.

“Where he allegedly buried them behind a rented apartment he lived in Ijebu-Ode before relocating to his present abode in Ibiade with the third child could also not be traced for possible exhumation.

“The fact that he refused to make the incidents known to any member of the family also gives course for concern, more so when the suspect is a herbalist, thus further fuelling the suspicion of having killed the deceased for possible rituals.”

The Amotekun commander said the case has been transferred to the state criminal investigation department for further investigation and prosecution.