Dr. Sunday Afolayan is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State. In the early hours of Friday, March 13, 2026, he took to his Facebook page to narrate how his 18-year-old nephew was allegedly murdered by a supposed mutual friend in Owo.l friend in Owo.

Below is his narration titled “WE NEED JUSTICE OVER OUR AMOS’ MURDER“.

I have read about chilling crime stories from different sources – print and broadcast media over the years. Today, the advent of Internet has further made such stories a common place. Ritual killing. Wilful murder. Kidnapping. Abduction. Rape. They are endless!

In my days as a reporter in Concord and The Guardian newspapers, I have also covered many, some of which still resonate in my medulla with vivid picturesque up till now. They will surely remain so.

As a young correspondent in Benin City then, for instance, crime reportage almost became my beat, roving from one police station to the other. From Ugbekun community (the home base of the notorious Anini and his gang) to Sapele Road, from Aduwawa to Oluku, Siluko to other places, the stories were almost the same. Crime everywhere! Benin City was then more or less home of crime. And that really kept someone like me busy.

I never imagined the extent of pains – excruciating pains – victims of such crime suffer until it happened to me.

I was at home at about 8pm on Friday 6/3/2026 when a call came through from a nephew in Abuja. “Daddy, I have been trying your line since but it was switched off…” He didn’t allow me say “yes because the battery went dead”, before he added: “Daddy, someone has murdered Amos. Daddy, Amos is dead… Amos is gone…Haa, Amos has been killed. Oh Daddy, Amos…Amos..!” He didn’t complete the last sentence as the line went dead. His voice was full of furry.

Who is Amos? Can this be real? I don’t know any Amos in Abuja. I returned the call immediately. “Please, who is Amos?”, I demanded.

Oh my God! I became paralysed as my breath couldn’t hold my strength any longer. Amos – my (same parents) younger sister’s 18 years old son has been killed by his street friend. That was the news. A bad one for that matter. No provocation. No argument. No fight. He was stabbed. Just like that. And the innocent boy was murdered in broad daylight! Right here in Owo.

In all my sojourn on earth, I have not seen any art or science that reveals the heart construction on the face. Otherwise, Amos would have run for his dear life from Ortega – his son-of-the-devil friend. But the hearts of men are desperately wicked. This is a typical instance. About two hours before the incident, Amos was said to have hosted the boy in his mother’s house where they ate a meal together, as usual, not knowing that the meal, like Jesus’ last supper, was the harbinger of his last day on earth. Ortega – who was expelled from Imade College, Owo, about three years ago for an undisclosed offence – was already keeping in his pocket, a long metal sharpened sideways with pointed tip, rehearsing silently how to get rid of his innocent friend.

Investigations revealed that Amos, who was just recovering from fever was on his way from home to his mother’s shop, a few metres away, to relax when this boy accosted him by the road side. That was about 4pm. Those who saw them thought it was their usual way of being together because there was no fight, no altercation. They claimed they became alerted only when Amos suddenly screamed and fell while his friend took to his heels. By the time they got there, Amos, in the pool of his blood, was already gasping. He has been badly stabbed in the heart – the very temple of his life’s sustainance. Too bad. He didn’t get to the hospital before he gave up. Amos – that “peaceable, easy-going and generous boy” (according to testimonies about him) – was confirmed dead on arrival at FMC, Owo, less than half a kilometer from Owatowose – the scene of attack. And sorrow and tears followed in torrents! It was like a festival of tears when the news of his passage filtered through the street, minutes after.

Kudos to the residents, who helped to apprehend Ortega and handed him over to police. Police stated the boy claimed he was sponsored to kill Amos. They said he mentioned two names but their identities were not revealed to us. Whether this claim is true or not is for the law enforcement agency to unravel.

While we believe in the capacity of the Nigerian Police and the judiciary to deliver justice without delay, the family will do everything possible within the purview of the law to prevent any manipulation or delay that may pervert the course of justice in this matter.

The family is shattered and perplexed. The pains of our Amos’ gruesome murder is more than thunder in our plexus. We are mourning him today. We will mourn him forever!  😢 💧😢💧