20-year-old found hanging in mother’s kitchen in Ondo

The police in Okitipupa, Ondo State are trying to unravel the mystery
surrounding the death of a 20-year old boy found hanging in his
mother’s kitchen.
The police want to determine whether the boy, Wale Lijoka, committed
suicide or was murdered.
Lijoka was on Wednesday found in a room at 2, Olanusi Avenue, an
enclosure between Okeloro and Lebi Streets in Okitipupa.
The body of the deceased was found dangling from the ceiling of the
dark, small room believed to be his mother’s kitchen.
Sympathisers and neighbours, who trooped to the scene of the incident,
could only see the body through a small window because the entrance to
the room was under lock and key.
Moyin Lijoka, the mother of the deceased, said the deceased could not
have hanged himself, adding that his death was a conspiracy of friends
he had misunderstanding with.
She said that the boy, who was an aluminum construction apprentice in
Lagos, came to Okitipupa on August 18 to visit her.
She said: “I called him on Tuesday evening to follow me to the church
for prayers but he refused, only for me to wake up this morning and
find his corpse in my kitchen.
“He cannot kill himself.
“I believe some assailants killed him and hanged him in my kitchen
just to cover-up because his legs were not far from the ground.
“I have called his father, who is a police officer in Ilorin.
“He said he did not want to have any issue with the boy’s death.
“That we should do what pleases us.”
Meanwhile, a sympathiser, who preferred to be addressed simply as Mrs
Ajoke, also corroborated the boy’s mother’s claim that the boy could
not have killed himself.
Ajoke, who described the scene as gory, also said the deceased was a
“rascal” and “street fighter” before he was sent to Lagos for
apprenticeship.
Ajoke said: “I saw him when he came on August 18 but I did not know if
he had a quarrel with anyone.
“From what I observed, his body might have been dumped here and made
to look like suicide.”
The Divisional Police Officer for Okitipupa, CSP Ifeanyi Ohuruzor,
confirmed the incident, saying it had been reported to his office.
“My officers were at the scene of the incident this morning but we are
still investigating,” Ohuruzor said.
Ohuruzor added that the corpse would have been removed but he learnt
that a certain ritual must be performed according to the tradition of
the land.