Members of the family of an Ogun State-based hunter, Olasunkanmi Olakiye, are currently grieving following his untimely death.
It was gathered that the 35-year-old man was
accidentally shot dead by one of his co-hunters while they were on a hunting
expedition in a bush in the Odeda area of the state on April 20.
The incident, it was learnt, threw the Egba
Hunters Association, a group the deceased belonged to, into confusion.
The group’s leader, Alao Yusuf, confirmed the
incident in an interview on Monday, describing it as an accident.
Yusuf said the information gathered from the
group members who were with the deceased showed that he was accidentally shot
by a team member when they were making attempts to kill an antelope in the bush.
He regretted that efforts made by his
colleagues to save Olakiye’s life proved futile as he was pronounced dead at
the hospital where he was rushed to.
He said although the incident was reported at
a police station, the family of the deceased decided not to press charges.
He said, “I was told that they went to the
bush for hunting and that the antelope that was shot died but the bullet hit
Olakiye. Immediately, they said that he was rushed to the hospital but that
before they got there, he was already dead.
“The matter was reported at the Odeda Police
Station and even Olakiye’s brothers were part of the hunting expedition.
“Olakiye’s family decided not to press
charges because they said it was an accidental discharge that claimed the life
of their kinsman.”
A member of a vigilante group in the state,
Alabi Adesina, also confirmed the incident.
“When we heard what happened, we quickly
called the police to inform them of the incident. We would always report issues
like this because, under the law, nothing of these kinds should be overlooked,”
he said.
Efforts made by our correspondent to talk to
any member of the deceased’s family did not yield results as of the time of
filing this report on Monday.
When contacted, the state Police Public
Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the development.
While confirming that the deceased family
decided not to press charges, Oyeyemi said the police still did their work and
discovered that it was a case of accidental discharge.
The PPRO said, “I am aware of the matter. All
of them are hunters. One of them shot at an animal and the bullet hit one of
their members (Olakiye). They reported the matter at the Odeda Police Station.
We investigated and discovered that it was a case of an accidental discharge.
“The family of the dead man said they would
not press charges since it was not a case of intentional killing. But we did
our work properly and we are still on the matter. As we speak, an investigation
on the matter is on.”
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