20 Mar 2012
Chairman EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde
From Sheriff Balogun in Abeokuta
Emerging facts are raising considerable doubts over reports that Egba high chief, businessman and socialite, Apagun Oluwole Olumide, committed suicide last Friday at the Abeokuta Golf Course and Resort, Ogun State.
Olumide, an associate of former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel, reportedly killed himself because of the revocation of the land on which the resort is built.
He was quoted as telling a friend on the phone last Friday that Governor Ibikunle Amosun had ruined his business and that he was going to commit suicide.
However, in a twist, a senior official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told THISDAY yesterday that Olumide was at the EFCC office at Okotie Eboh Street, Lagos State, on the fateful day to request the release of his international passport because he wanted to travel out of the country.
Son of the deceased, Seyi, also said yesterday that his father was not troubled in anyway to have warranted committing suicide.
The anti-graft agency had arrested and quizzed him over his relationship with Daniel, who was undergoing trial over his tenure as governor of the state from 2003 to 2011.
Olumide was interrogated for four days, during which he was said to have cooperated fully with the EFCC over the investigation.
"On Friday afternoon, he came to our office and made the request (for his passport to be released) verbally. We told him he had to put it in writing before it could be approved. He then left the office, promising to bring the letter on Monday (yesterday). He was accompanied to EFCC office by a friend, whom we understand Chief Olumide still spoke with around 7.30pm same day requesting that they both come back to EFCC office on Monday to drop the letter and pick the passport," the official told THISDAY.
If indeed the socialite was planning to commit suicide that same night, the official said, "then he must have been a very good actor".
Olumide, he said, did not show any sign of distress or depression throughout his visit to the EFCC.
"He was calm and friendly. There was no sign of distress at all. In fact, how can somebody who was planning to travel out of the country suddenly commit suicide? Does it make sense? There is more to this than we are reading in the newspapers," he said.
Olumide's remains were finally buried amidst sober mood in his country home at Abeokuta yesterday.
Among those who attended the burial service yesterday were Daniel; former Minister of Mines and Steel, Chief Sharafa Ishola; former Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tunji Alapini; former Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Bola Ajibola; and Chief Alani Bankole.
Meanwhile, the state government's delegation led by the state Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Mr. Joe Eye, insisted that autopsy must be carried out before burial.
This followed suspicions by the Ogun State Government that Olumide was murdered and not that he committed suicide as was being widely reported.
Last Friday, Olumide was said to have instructed his driver to park his car at a particular point within the club premises as he walked through a bush path.
After waiting for an hour for his boss to return, the driver raised the alarm which led to a search. It was also gathered that Olumide's cap and shoes were found by the side of a fish pond located inside the club resort while a rescue team made frantic efforts to recover his body.
The body was recovered by local divers on Saturday. The state Police Command has commenced investigation into the death.
The late chief was summoned by the state Judicial Commis-sion of Inquiry on Land Matters and asked to appear on Friday, November 25, 2011, following a petition by some members of Abeokuta Golf Club over the ownership of a parcel of 79 hectares given to the club during the administration of Daniel for public use.
Olumide was also alleged to have registered the golf club in the name of his private business and the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) was issued in his personal capacity and not as that of the club
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-----Original Message-----
From: Ayekoto <tbosun@ymail.com>
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2012 08:14:42
To: <NaijaPolitics@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: <naijapolitics@yahoogroups.com>; <omoodua@yahoogroups.com>; <naijaobserver@yahoogroups.com>; <naijaelections@yahoogroups.com>; <nigeriaroundtable@yahoogroups.com>; <naijaexcel@yahoogroups.com>; <talknigeria@yahoogroups.com>; <nigerianworldforum@yahoogroups.com>; <nigerianid@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [NIgerianWorldForum] Re: [NaijaPolitics] Apagun: You will find my
body inside Lake Toria-Son rejects suicide theory
Son rejects suicide theory as Apagun Olumide is buried
By Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta <http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/author/David/> 8 hours 39 minutes ago
Font size: <http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/40351-son-rejects-suicide-theory-as-apagun-olumide-is-buried.html> <http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/40351-son-rejects-suicide-theory-as-apagun-olumide-is-buried.html>
.Clerics and the children of the late Olumide...yesterday <http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/thumbnail.php?file=Pix_2__APAKUN__571084915.jpg&size=article_medium> .Clerics and the children of the late Olumide...yesterday
The remains of the Apagunpote of Egbaland, Chief Oluwole Stephen Olumide, was buried yesterday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The late Olumide's body was found last Saturday in an artificial lake at his cosy Golf Resort in Abeokuta.
The funeral, scheduled for 12 noon, did not begin until his body arrived at 2:58pm.
Six pallbearers removed the grey casket with a silver lining containing his remains from a Mercedes Benz car and took it into the deceased's Toria home in Ita-Eko, Abeokuta.
Olumide's remains was interred in the compound at 3:45pm yesterday.
His children, family and friends said he contributed immensely to the growth of the Egba people.
They said the late Olumide had no reason to commit suicide.
One of his sons, Seyi, who was calm throughout the funeral, described his father as "a loving person and a disciplinarian, who could not have taken his life".
He said: "My father was not troubled, so he had no reason to commit suicide. He was a disciplinarian and a loving father."
A businessman, Otunba Gbenga Ogungbe, said the late Olumide devoted his time and profession to the service of humanity and the Methodist Church, designing architectural works for many free of charge.
Former Managing Director of Daily Times Tola Adeniyi and former Minister of Steel Tunji Sarafa debunked the story that the deceased committed suicide.
They said he had no reason to take his life and prayed to God to reveal the truth about Olumide's death.
Also present were former Governor Gbenga Daniel; the Methodist community; former Judge of the International Court of Justice Prince Bola Ajibola; Rear Admiral Oladeinde Joseph (rtd); Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Tunji Alapini; and former Commissioner for Sports Bukola Olopade.
At the morgue of the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, where Olumide's body was kept, an argument ensued between the family and the state government over the propriety or otherwise of conducting an autopsy.
It was gathered that while the government insisted on an autopsy, the family objected to it, but the deceased's first son, Femi, later allowed the autopsy.
The report is not yet known.
In his sermon, Rev. Benjamin Obaselu of the Methodist Church, Imo, Abeokuta, where the deceased worshipped, said death was inevitable and urged people to live a purposeful life.
Former Secretary of the Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF) Patrick Nwagbale said: "Olumide will be missed by the golf community. I am still shocked by his death. I hope the police will unravel the real circumstances of his death.
"He was one of the country's best architects. His professional savvy is reflected in the Abeokuta Golf Course, which he carved out of a wooded forest at the Imasan Hills in the early 1990s."
NGF Secretary Bola Adedeji said: "Although I never met him, I heard a lot about him. It is painful to lose such an important dignitary in the golf family."
On Mar 20, 2012, at 9:05 AM, "Biodun Sowunmi " <sowunmi@hotmail.com <mailto:sowunmi@hotmail.com> > wrote:
Apagun: You will find my body inside Lake Toria
MONDAY, 19 MARCH 2012
WRITTEN BY KUNLE OLAYENI, ABEOKUTA
Facts emerged yesterday about how prominent Egba High Chief and chairman, Golf Resort Hotel, Apagun Oluwole Olumide, died on Friday night in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Oluwole, a renowned architect, socialite and tourism promoter, had reportedly committed suicide by plunging into an artificial lake at the Golf Course located within the resort. The deceased, who would have clocked 70 years in May, this year, would be buried today.
The Nigerian Compass gathered authoritatively yesterday that moments before he died, the late Olumide sent a text message to one of his close friends and a family member intimating them of the impending death.
It was further gathered that the text message was also copied to a business associate.
The text messages were received about 8.24 pm on Friday. Impeccable sources told the Nigerian Compass that the late High Chief indicated that his body would be found inside Lake Toria, which was built by him as part of the Golf Resort project.
Incidentally, the name of Apagun's residence is also called Toria House located in Ita-Eko, Abeokuta.
At 9.05 am on Saturday, local divers recovered his body, which was later deposited at the mortuary of Neuropsychiatry Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta.
The late Olumide plunged into the artificial lake shortly after returning to Abeokuta from the Lagos office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was quizzed two weeks ago by operatives of the anti-graft agency reportedly in connection with controversy surrounding the hotel.
Before his ordeal with EFCC, the deceased had had a running battle with Governor Ibikunle Amosun who seized his business interests. Amosun had seized the 150-room Golf Place Hotel, Abeokuta and revoked its Certificate of Occupancy (CofO), saying the land on which the edifice was built was illegally acquired.
The governor revoked the title documents of the Golf Resort.
On his first working day after inauguration on May 29, 2011, Amosun also ordered and supervised the demolition of Water Parks building in Abeokuta, belonging to Olumide.
The governor claimed that the building constituted "a security threat" to the State Secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
At the Olumide residence yesterday, some of the young men around spoke against Amosun's action which they believe led to the suicide. One of them said: "We just want him to be buried first before we speak. The state government forced him to commit suicide, that we know.
This type of politics is not good at all given the fact that Amosun and Apagun Olumide are Egba. How does the governor want Olumide family members to feel now?"
Meanwhile, a delegation from the former Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, yesterday visited the family to commiserate over the loss of the Egba High Chief.
The delegation was led by former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Aare Tunde Alabi.
Apart from him, former Commissioner for Special Duties, Chief Kola Sorinola, former Commissioner for Housing, Mrs Jokotade Odebunmi, former Chairman of Obafemi Owode Local Government, Engineer Akeem Adesina, Princess Ronke Ogunremi, Balogun Oluwole Adeyi, Alhaji Moruf Ajisegiri, Hon. Nurudeen Olaleye and Alhaji Ismail Odejimi were also in the delegation.
Alabi told the family that the former governor received the news of Olumide's death with shock.
He asked them not to be disillusioned as God would strengthen them "at this trying period".
The former commissioner, thereafter, presented a letter of condolence from Daniel to the family.
The letter was received on behalf of the family by Olumide's first son, Femi, in presence of Apagun's widow, Architect Bisi Olumide.
The family expressed appreciation to Daniel for his thoughtfulness and also thanked members of the delegation for the visit.
Prominent among those who paid condolence visits to the family yesterday were former Assistant Inspector General of Police, Tunji Alapini (rtd), wife of Alake of Egbaland, Dr Tokunbo Gbadebo, and father of former House of Representatives Speaker, Chief Alani Bankole.
When the Nigerian Compass visited the late Olumide's residence, it was discovered that arrangements were being made by family members ahead of today's burial.
A grey Mercedes Benz hearse with number plate TOS 5 was seen in front of the residence conveying a casket sealed in a compartment.
Former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, also sympathised with members of the family.
In a letter sent to the Alake of Egbaland, Oyinlola, the President of the Nigeria Golf Federation, said he was deeply touched by the sad loss and shared in the grief of the Egba people.
"I have known Chief Olumide for several years as a true patriot who was deeply committed to whichever goals he chose to pursue. Throughout his lifetime spanning about seven decades, the deceased exhibited the traits of a disciplined personality who was well regarded among his colleagues, friends and associates.
"Apagun Olumide's services to our dear nation are uncountable. He combined the ingenuity of a brilliant architect with the humility and fellow-feeling for a well-bred Nigerian. Those of us who knew him well would attest to his sterling qualities as a humanist and gentleman who mixed freely with the old as well as the young. Apagun was a very sincere person who was always willing to share his experiences with other people.
"It is not surprising that Apagun Olumide was able to record monumental achievements and also record his name on the positive pages of history through his contributions to the development of humanity. We thank God Almighty for his many successes. I am sure that he left behind footsteps worthy of emulation by all of us who are alive today.
"We thank God for the deceased's exemplary life in this world. We commend him to God's good care in the Great Beyond. I pray that God may grant you the fortitude to bear this great loss. Kindly convey my condolence and that of the Nigeria Golf Federation which I head as its president to the family of late Chief Oluwole Olumide.
"While once again commiserating with you on this most regrettable and painful loss, please accept the heartfelt condolences of my family as well as those of my friends and political associates," Oyinlola said.
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