Oyo state government on Friday, refuted a report that a man turned two children into tubers of yam in Ibadan, the state capital.
Representing Gov. Makinde, the Commissioner for Education, Hon. AdulRahman Abdu-Raheem, who had earlier visited the affected school, Bashorun Ojoo High School, Ibadan disputed the report saying investigations by the state government, revealed that the suspect was just a victim of circumstance.
Some online news sites (not oyoaffairs.net) had earlier reported that a man was set ablaze after allegedly ‘charming’ two students into tubers of yam.
Hon. Abdu-Raheem described the news report as a mere figment of imagination.
He further assured that there was no record of any missing students in the school, as parents and guardians had trooped into the school upon hearing circulated fake news to claim their children.
According to Abdu-Raheem, “Investigations have been carried out, and it showed that the victim was mentally deranged.”
In a similar development, popular Ibadan Broadcaster and Chairman of Agidigbo FM, Oriyomi Hamzat, on a special interview broadcast some hours ago, established that the man (suspect) later identified as Tope Aluko was sent on an errand with those items by his boss’ mother, with whom he stays with.
The woman who sent Aluko on errand, Alhaja Wulemotu Alamu, while narrating how she has been wrongly framed as the sponsor of an alleged ritualist tearfully said she knew Tope Aluko through her son, who had suffered from stroke some months ago, hence why she sent Tope, to her son’s family to deliver the tubers of yam and the pieces of diapers she could not sell, to his wife.
Tope who was confirmed to be living with a mental condition was however not lucky as he was reportedly stopped by some students who probably were aware of his condition, and manipulated the situation to raise false alarm that Tope was a ritualist, turning students to tubers of yam.
Also testifying of Alhaja Alamu’s innocence on the live programme with Oriyomi, the son to whom Tope was sent to deliver the tubers of yam and diapers, claimed that Tope was his conductor while he was still driving before he had a stroke condition and couldn’t do much for himself again.
He denied Tope or his mother being a ritualist, saying he could not understand how he was wrongly framed.
A friend of Alhaja Alamu and agent of her house properties who claimed to have known her for almost 30 years, condemned how some unknown guys invaded her house to disrupt her peace and store of yams while also making away with her herd of goats.
Tope Aluko, who is Alhaja Alamu’s errand boy, was not set ablaze as some news sites wrongly reported although he was tied with rope in a viral video on social media.
Oriyomi Hamzat while exonerating the wrongly accused, admonished the citizens and residents of Oyo state to stop peddling fake news and avoid taking law into their hands.
Also, the commissioner of education in his own words enjoined parents and residents to go about their normal businesses and ignore the rumour, assuring them of adequate protection for school children in Oyo state.
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