Friends, Associates Of Nigerian Breweries’ Top Manager Murdered In Ibadan Demand Justice

•••Want IGP’s Intervention

By Bode Akinbode

Friends and associates of the Late Fatai Olukayode Lawal who was the Brewery Business Controller at the Nigerian Breweries, Ibadan have called on the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba to intervene in the ongoing investigation being conducted by the police.

Lawal was assassinated on the 21st of March, 2023 in Ibadan while driving on the Airport Road with a few friends towards the airport.

Two motorbike riders double-crossed the party. Before fleeing, one of the two assailants brandished an AK-47 assault weapon and shot the NB chief in the head and chest.

According to eyewitness account in the Kasko area of the road, the incident happened so fast that no one could respond in time. It took many minutes before he was transported to a nearby hospital where he was confirmed dead.

Friends of the deceased are calling on the IGP to ensure that police beam their searchlights into his activities at the Ibadan Breweries before he met his untimely death.

He was said to have occupied a position that gave him responsibility for checks and accountability in the company he joined about 20 years ago.

One of the deceased friends, one Mr. Oladapo Joseph , who spoke to journalists at the weekend, said the late Lawal might have been killed because of his commitment to putting an end to incessant corruption going on at the Ibadan Breweries, and that is why his associates are not happy with the casual way the establishment has handled the incident, and that an investigation should be conducted among people who worked or associated with the breweries in Ibadan.

“This man was my friend. He was brutally assassinated on March 21. He was investigating some shady activities in NBL as that was really his job. Neither the police nor the NBL has showed any appreciable interest in unravelling the murder.

“We are calling on the IGP to use his good office to ensure that those who committed the dastardly act are brought to justice. We have absolute confidence in the police hierarchy to unravel this murder.” he said.

A source close to Nigerian Breweries said the company was with the family and it was doing all it could to ensure that justice is served. Our source however debunked that saying the brewery did not live up to its responsibility on the matter.

When contacted, the Oyo State Command Spokesperson, Adewale Osifeso, said investigation was ongoing but refused to disclose if anyone had been arrested in connection with the murder case.

He said, “Investigation is ongoing. Updates would be provided accordingly, please.”