He came back from church, prayed before he was killed
On the New Year eve, which many people prefer to call, ‘cross-over night’, Mike Afolabi, 29, mounted the podium at the Celestial Chuch of Christ, Ilasan Estate, Lekki. Lagos, to read the Bible lesson and delivered a sermon, to prepare members of the congregation for 2011.
According to members, the Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE) returnee was at his best that day, as if another day was not going to come. And it turned out to be so for him, as he was stabbed to death few hours after.
His offence? The young man, described by his father, Senior Evangelist David Afolabi, as a hardworking and good Christian, refused to drink alcohol offered him by some young men, who attended a carnival.
The grieving father spoke of how his late son rejected a bottle of beer given to
Him by the boys. He turned it down, telling them he never tasted alcohol all his
Life.
“The man poured the beer on his head. My son stood up and went to report to an elderly man, told him to where he was sitting, in front of my house, when they came back and challenged him,” he said
One of them was said to be angry because Mike had the guts to report them to ‘School Boy’. For doing that, they reasoned that he deserved to be dealt with One of them, Segun Amoo, was alleged to have pulled his knife and stabbed him several times
Evangelist Afolabi said: “People will even tell you that he was a good Christian. He read the Bible lesson that New Year eve and delivered the sermon that night. He came back home, prayed and later went down from the second floor to watch the carnival. His death was unexpected.”
He explained that he was in Lokoja, Kogi State, on a transfer when he received the news of his son’s murder.
“They told me on phone that he was stabbed and was rushed to the hospital. He was the only son from his mother, I have other sons from my other wife,” he further said.
He said Mike came back from Dubai, where he spent two months to facilitate his admission into one of the country’s universities “He returned in October, 2010,” he said.
The Bereaved father said he was in shock for two days, but said he had left the fate of his son in the hands of God. “The law of God is already there. God said He would take vengeance and that we should leave vengeance to Him,” he lamented.
The victim is a holder National Diploma in Insurance, from The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State, before he gained admission into the Lagos State University (LASU), where he was studying Accounting as 400 level student.
Meanwhile, Evangelist Afolabi has advised the police to always beef up security where youths are organizing events such as, the carnival, which he said, led to his son’s death.
Meanwhile, the police have said that it was Amoo, who stabbed the victim.
According to the command’s spokesman, Mr. Frank Mba, it was the same gang of three, that stabbed one Jacob Olusola on December 30, 2010.
He gave the names of other members of the gang as, Adeleke Olarenwaju and Emamnuel Ezedinma, adding that police were on their trail.
Mba, however, advised parents, members of the Community Development Committee (CDC), landlords and tenants associations, to always monitor youths in their areas, especially, when they organize events like carnivals, adding that police quickly arrested Amoo, after he allegedly committed the crime.
“People will even tell you that he was a good Christian. He read the Bible lesson that new year eve and delivered lectured that night. He came back home, prayed, and later went down from the second floor to watch the carnival. His death was unexpected.”
DAILY SUN Thursday 20th January 2011
Page 28
By MATTHEW DIKE
