A police officer who participated in the investigation of the murder of former World Bank consultant, Dr. Ayodeji Daramola, John Emeje, has tendered statements obtained from former Personal Assistant to Governor Fayose Fayose, Goke Olatunji, before an Ekiti State High Court in Ado-Ekiti.
Emeje appeared at the continuation of hearing of the case before Justice Adewale Fowe on the murder of Daramola, a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant on 14th August, 2006 at his personal residence in Ijan-Ekiti.
Olatunji’s statements tendered by the witness and admitted in evidence by the court include the ones made on 19th October 2006, 10th November 2006 and 18th November 2006.
Emeje, a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), told the court that he was attached to the Inspector General of Police Special Investigation Unit at the Force Headquarters in Abuja. He said he came to the court to give evidence based on a letter he received from the Ministry of Justice.
He disclosed that he was contacted through a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Amodu Ali whom he said was assigned by the IGP to serve as the Chairman of Force Special Investigation Panel at Force Headquarters.
Emeje explained that Daramola murder case file was transferred from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) of Ekiti State Police Command to the Force Headquarters and he was detailed to carry out investigation.
He said: “I was the head of the team and I was actively involved in the investigation; I visited the scene of the crime with my team at the late Dr. Daramola’s residence and by that time, he had been buried already.
“We saw the grave, the post mortem had been performed by detectives in Ekiti State before the case was transferred. It was in the file, I can identify the report.”
Emeje went on: “In the course of our investigation, some persons including the defendant (Olatunji) were arrested and interrogated and in the course of the interrogation, the statement of the defendant was
recorded.
“The interrogation of the defendant was sequel to a statement made by one of the suspects implicating him (Olatunji) in the murder of the late Daramola. I recorded the statement and subsequent statements were further made by the defendant in my presence.”
The witness explained that based on Olatunji’s denial of complicity in the killing of Daramola in all the statements he volunteered to the Police, an identification parade was conducted at Force Headquarters but he said he couldn’t recall the date.
Emeje identified other suspects in the alleged murder to include Taiwo Olanipekun, Busuyi Aladesanmi and Daniel Ukaegbu with the parade conducted by AIG Ali adding that at the end of the parade, the suspects could not identify Olatunji.
Referring to Exhibits 1 and 3, which were the statements made by defendant, the witness told the court that he (Olatunji) was in Ikoyi Prisons on 14th August, 2006, the day Daramola was murdered.
According to the witness, Olatunji said in the statement that he was arrested on 24th July, 2006 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport while accompanying his former boss to an overseas trip and was still detained in Lagos when the murder occurred in Ekiti. The case was adjourned to 3rd July, 2017 for further hearing.
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