The family of Deputy Superintendent of Corrections Oluwapelumi Simidele Adebayo has called on the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to urgently institute an independent investigation into the alleged double murder of their son and Lokoja-based photojournalist Ayo Aiyepeku on July 23, 2025.
Family Rejects Suicide Claims
The family dismissed reports that their son committed suicide following the murder of Aiyepeku. They alleged that the same killers who murdered the photographer also killed Pelumi and staged his body at a hotel to cover up the crime. Oluwapelumi had been declared a suspect by the police, but his father, J.O. Adebayo, through counsel Dele Adebayo of Hephzibah Chambers, claimed conspirators orchestrated his son's murder and financed negative publicity to tarnish his memory.
According to the family, Pelumi was already dead when the police claimed he was on the run. They asserted that the real culprits compromised pathologists and police to produce a false autopsy report. They further alleged that telephone exchanges between Pelumi's older brother and the prime suspect suggest the killing was linked to an unresolved domestic dispute involving politically connected individuals.
Allegations of Evidence Tampering
The family accused investigators of dragging their feet, suppressing evidence, and delaying the arraignment of suspects. They claimed that Pelumi's body was stripped, cleaned, and placed in a hotel with a staged suicide scene, including sniper, coke, and biscuit. They noted that suicide victims typically retain their clothes and phones, and that Pelumi showed no signs of foaming or frothing, suggesting violence and strangulation.
“The same assassins who murdered Oluwapelumi executed Ayo,” the family stated. They alleged that a conspirator falsely claimed Pelumi had mental health issues to support the murder-suicide narrative.
Call for Justice
The family has petitioned the IGP, the National Cybercrime Centre, and the Homicide Section since July 30, 2025, but accused the police of foot-dragging and perverting justice. They warned that attempts to taint evidence with doctored medical reports will be debunked by verified records.
“Pelumi did not butcher Ayo as earlier reported, nor did he kill himself. He was conveyed to the hotel and had died since July 22, 2025,” the family said. They emphasized that Ayobami's father also died as a result of the crimes, calling it a wake-up call for Nigeria.
The family urged the police and correctional service to set a precedent that law enforcement officers cannot be killed without consequences. They stressed that any civilian or politician comfortable with murdering a government official must have terrorist ties and that extortion, intimidation, corruption, and suppression of evidence should be treated as emergencies.
