My murderous action not about the church, is about my personality – Killer son

Late Father and culprit(son)

It was a sober reflection and tears of regret and lamentation for Tolani Ajayi, a 21-year old undergraduate student of Redeemers’ University, RCCG Camp along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway when he was asked by reporters at Eleweran, the Ogun State Police Command where he is currently held for interrogation, to explain why and how he killed his biological father.

Tolani Ajayi, a 300-level undergraduate of the Department of History and International Relations of Redeemers’ University, was earlier reported to have killed his father, Charles Ajayi, a senior advocate of Nigeria, (SAN) in the Redemption Camp last week Saturday, claiming that his father had earlier provoked him.

It was also gathered that Tolani was facing the Redeemers’ University Panel for drug-related crime before he committed murder following his arrest by the university authority on two different occasions.

Although the killer-son was reluctant to speak to newsmen while asking him questions in order to unravel the mystery behind his action since he referred journalists to the police statement earlier made on the crime, he was troubled with guilty conscience, repeatedly saying: “I regret my action”.

He declared afterwards that he had sent some people to his mother over the matter to appeal to her on his behalf for forgiveness, affirming that he had sought for her forgiveness.

“I have sent some people to talk to her that I am sorry, I have talked to my sister, my mother is still grieving, I want to give her time, it may be spiritual. I have asked for forgiveness”.

But when asked whether he was under any strange influence, Ajayi confessed that he had been into drugs, adding that: “I tried those drugs myself. I might have heard it from my friends, but I tried it myself”.

While he was reluctantly explaining, the suspect confessed that he actually and initially used a kitchen knife and cutlass to attack his father during an argument between him and his father, denying however, that he was under the influence of the drugs as the action was not pre-planned. 

He said the incident “happened around 1a.m   when the church would have been sleeping by then. It was an anger that led me into this. My father just bit me repeatedly with his teeth. There was an argument between us and I stood up to him; he beat me with a stick and bit me with his teeth. Just the two of us were at home, my mother was in Abuja. 

When he was asked whether his parents lived together as husband and wife, Ajayi said: “We lived in Abuja, I school in Camp, he came for a programme, then, my school was on break, so,  I went to meet  him,  we were meant  to go  back to  Abuja together, then, the incident happened and I am here.”

He added that his father was the one that first hit him. “My father went to the kitchen and got a stick (wooden spoon) he used it on me repeatedly and I tried to defend myself, then he bit me on my shoulder and I got angry. I used normal small kitchen knife, then, I used cutlass to attack him. I regret the action.” 

He however, ruled out any help from Nigerians, declaring that “there is no way Nigerians can help me, I am going to face my judgment; I am meant to pay for what I have done. It is not as if I am ready, it is something that is inevitable, something that is going to happen I am just waiting for it”, adding, “I don’t miss church throughout this semester, I never missed church for once, it is not about the Church”.

culled from business day