THE Ondo State Police Command has confirmed the death of a murder suspect, Femi Oladele, also known as Tallex, during a brief illness in its custody.
Oladele was earlier arrested and detained for his alleged role in the abduction and death of two students of the Adekunle Ajasin University (AAU), Akungba Akoko.
The victims, Abah John Friday, a 25-year-old student of the Department of Economics, and Okah Andrel Eloho, 19, from the Department of History and International Studies, were found dead three weeks after they were declared missing.
Among the arrested suspects is Femi, the landlord of one of the victims, whom police identified as the alleged mastermind behind the crime.
The state police commissioner, Adebowale Lawal, while addressing the media on Wednesday, July 16, described the incident as a premeditated and brutal crime.
Meanwhile, the Ondo Police Command on Saturday, July 19, confirmed the death of Femi, also known as Tallex, during a brief illness.
Femi reportedly fell sick while in custody and was rushed to a hospital by the police, where he died.
The state police public relations officer (PPRO), Olayinka Ayanlade, confirmed the death of the suspect, stating that Femi had been receiving treatment but surrendered to death in the early hours of Friday, July 18.
“Yes, he is dead. He had been under medical supervision since his arrest and had been in and out of the hospital. He passed away yesterday (Friday). We have recovered the decomposing body of Okah and are still searching for Abba’s remains.
“We urge the public to disregard any attempt to twist the facts. The command remains fully committed to justice. Everyone involved will face the full weight of the law,” the PPRO told Punch.
Backstory
The two victims had been missing since June 20, 2025, when fellow students noticed their prolonged absence from class. The alarm raised by their colleagues triggered a series of actions by the university’s Student Union Government (SUG), which engaged multiple security agencies, including the anti-kidnapping squad and the Scorpion Unit of the Nigerian Police Force in Akure, the Ondo state capital.
On Sunday, July 13, the police recovered the lifeless body of Okah in a forest near Ode-Ekiti, at the Ondo-Ekiti border.
Abah’s body remains missing but is believed to have been dumped in a river by one of the accomplices, still at large.
In a statement on Monday, July 14, the SUG president, Akeem Ologbon, described the incident as painful and devastating, assuring students that the union would ensure justice is pursued.
He stated that once the union became aware of the students’ disappearance, it responded swiftly and responsibly by promptly engaging the relevant security agencies to aid in their location.
According to the police commissioner, Lawal detectives began an investigation after a petition was filed on June 24 by Emmanuel Peter, the elder brother of Abah John.
He noted that the investigation led police to Computer Village, Ikeja, where they recovered an iPhone 14 Pro Max belonging to one of the victims from a 38-year-old suspect, Abdul Mohammed Mubarak.
According to him, Mubarak explained that he bought the phone from Ojo Michael, who was later arrested in Aramoko-Ekiti, where the victims’ Lexus RX 350 vehicle was also recovered.
Under interrogation, Michael reportedly confessed to his role in the crime and implicated Femi, the landlord of Abah John, as the mastermind.
According to the police, Femi had recruited Michael and one Kola (currently at large) to rob and abduct the students.
A reporter with the ICIR
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