Man Kills 85-year-old Observing Ramadan Night Prayer

Residents of Abiola Central Community, Moniya, Akinyele Local Government area of Oyo State were thrown into mourning as a young man, Mutiu Tiamiyu, beat to death an 85-year-old man, Nasir Adigun, on Ramadan eve.  The octogenarian, who was physically impaired, was said to be observing Tarawhi (Ramadan night prayer) on Tuesday when Tiamiyu pounced on him.  It was learnt that the old man was persuaded by his family members to observe the prayer at home, while other members of the household went to the mosque.  The attention of residents and worshippers in a nearby mosque were drawn to the old man’s plight by an unnamed teenager, who raised the alarm.  When the residents arrived at Adigun’s house, the old man was found in a pool of blood.  He was rushed to a nearby hospital and was later referred to the University College Hospital, Ibadan. He died before getting to the hospital.  An eyewitness, who preferred anonymity, said, “Tiamiyu had eaten the old man’s food earlier that night. He later attacked him in his living room.”  A family member said, “Pa Adigun was at home while we all went to the mosque for Tarawhi prayer. He had problem with his sight. We didn’t want to disturb him at night so he stayed at home while others went to mosque for prayer.  “All of a sudden, we heard a boy shouting Mutiu’s name. At first we shouted the boy down but we later rushed to the scene because he persisted.  “On getting there, baba was found lying helplessly on the floor in a pool of blood. The young boy said that he saw Tiamiyu hitting baba’s head with a club. He (the boy) lives next door; he refused to go to mosque with his parents. He told us that he saw Tiamiyu beating the old man when he peeped through the window.”  Tiamiyu, who had earlier escaped was arrested by the victim’s family around 7.20am on Wednesday while trying to escape with his dog. He was handed over to the police at the Moniya Division, Ibadan.  Some residents of the area described Tiamiyu as a thorn in their flesh. Our correspondent gathered that some neighbours had complained that he was victimising people in the area.  On interrogation before being handed over to the police, Tiamiyu said, “I was hungry and I asked baba to give me money but he refused.”  Attempts to get the reaction of the police to the incident failed as the Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Command, Mrs. Bisi Ilobanefor, could not be reached. Calls made to her telephone number rang out.