OUR BREADWINNER, ‘SUGAR’, IS GONE — BROTHER OF SLAIN MEMBER OF HOUSE OF REPS

OLATOYE-TEMITOPE-SUGAR

Though the police in Oyo State said the death of Hon. Temitope Olatoye, aka ‘Sugar,’ a federal lawmaker from Lagelu/Akinyele Constituency, was not politically motivated, it would be difficult for his relatives, especially Hon. Olajide Olatoye, his elder brother, to believe that because it happened during penultimate Saturday elections.

The elder brother was reacting to statements credited to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, AIG Zone 11, Mr Leye Oyebade, and Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Shina Olukolu, that his sibling’s murder was just a case of murder. Olajide, in an interview at their Alakia family house in Ibadan, maintained that the killing of the lawmaker had a political undertone, urging the police authorities to conduct a proper investigation into the matter. “With due respect, I think that statement has a political undertone. At the time they killed Sugar, did he go to Oja’ba to buy yam? Or did he go to Bodija to buy beans? It was during the election when he was coming back from where he went to perform his civic responsibility as a good citizen of this country and as a federal legislator. His killing has much importance to his political murderers”, he said.

“So I am debunking the statement, with due respect, made by the AIG that his killing was not politically motivated. It was politically motivated”. Olatoye, however, commended the police for the efforts made so far in their investigation especially as some arrests have been made.

“If the police believed it was not politically motivated, I want to appeal to the APC government to steer clear of this case,” the bereaved brother said, adding that those behind the murder should be fished out and brought to justice. “I say categorically that Sugar was the breadwinner of the Olatoye family and they have taken him away. What is now our gain? And if this is not curbed, they will do it to other members of the family.

“I want the Federal Government and the Inspector-General of Police to take note, the killing of my brother must not go like this and I am saying it, categorically, that am going to sacrifice anything to get the culprits who killed my younger brother”. Meanwhile, the Chief Whip of the state House of Assembly has been arrested in connection with the murder. There had been a lingering feud between him and the deceased lawmaker over the control of the local government.