The Lagos State Police Command has exhumed the body of Adedamola Ogunbode, a 28-year-old graduate of Lagos State University (LASU), who went missing on January 16.
Ogunbode, a Political Science Education graduate, was found buried in a shallow grave behind the LASU fence in the Ojo campus.
Police spokesperson CSP Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed the arrest of four suspects linked to the murder, with a manhunt ongoing for four others. The suspects allegedly transferred funds from Ogunbode’s bank account and shared the proceeds among themselves.
“One of the principal suspects confessed to the crime and led us to the site where the victim was buried,” Hundeyin stated during the exhumation. The case, initially a missing person report, was escalated to a murder investigation following the assumption of duty by the new Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Moshood Jimoh, on February 18.
Hundeyin assured the public that justice would be served, with efforts intensified to apprehend the remaining suspects. “The suspects will definitely be prosecuted,” he said, extending condolences to the bereaved family and acknowledging the Lagos State Government’s support in crime-fighting efforts.
Among those arrested were a pastor, Whepetoji Sunday, who allegedly received N70,000 from the victim’s account, and a church member, Sheriff Adebayo, accused of receiving N300,000. The prime suspect’s mother, Omolara Ajisomo, was also detained for allegedly helping her children flee after they received N300,000 each from the victim’s account.
The police sealed a church linked to the suspects following intelligence reports of a planned arson in retaliation. Hundeyin clarified that the grave was not within the church premises, contrary to social media speculation.
Ogunbode was last seen near the Celestial Church of Christ, Ileri Oluwa Parish, LASU 2, and was on a phone call with his girlfriend at the time of the incident. “He told her he was near the church when someone called him inside. That was the last time anyone heard from him,” a family source revealed.
