An Ondo State Magistrate Court sitting in Akure has ordered the remand of Waheed Afolabi, a 34-year-old man, in connection with the murder of businessman Abdulsalam Awoyinka and for allegedly issuing death threats to the victim’s family.
According to The PUNCH, Afolabi was charged with four offences: murder, threat to life, fraud, and criminal conversion. The court heard that the accused fatally shot Awoyinka in the chest near his residence in Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, on March 1, 2025, shortly after the victim returned from prayers at a mosque.
The prosecutor, Nelson Akintimehin, told the court that on March 15, the accused sent threats to the victim’s widow, Alhaja Morufat Awoyinka, demanding N4 million and warning that failure to comply would lead to the same fate as her late husband.
“He not only threatened the widow and her children but also extorted N1.5 million from her under duress,” Akintimehin told the court, adding that Afolabi converted the funds for his personal use.
The prosecutor further noted that Afolabi’s actions contravened several provisions of the Ondo State Criminal Code, including Sections 319 (murder), 86 (threat to life), 419 (fraud), 393, and 390.
Although Afolabi pleaded not guilty, Magistrate O. Omotosho declined to take his plea, citing the court’s lack of jurisdiction over capital offences like murder. She consequently ordered that the accused be remanded at the Olokuta Correctional Centre pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
“The police are to duplicate the case file and forward it to the DPP for review,” Magistrate Omotosho ruled, before adjourning the case to July 10, 2025.
