Chief Daniel also said that his administration provided Olatoye with no cover when he was in the state.
Daniel, in a reaction to allegation that the late lawmaker was one of his political thugs while he held sway as the number one citizen of Ogun State from 2003 to 2011, said it was his government that got him out of the state.
In a statement forwarded to Saturday Tribune by his media aide, Ayo Giwa, the former governor said various lies and unfounded stories had been told about his administration that it sponsored a “killer squad”.
He explained that his administration got the late lawmaker from Odeda to Oyo State, saying “In setting the records straight, my only comment is that ‘Sugar’ was banished from Odeda to Oyo State during my tenure as executive governor.
“I do not believe that statement that someone got an official cover during OGD days. Loads of lies have been told about our administration, including the death of Dipo Dina, but the real truth has started coming out and more will be coming out in the days ahead.
“Is it also OGD that prevented the government from arresting and prosecuting him and others in the last eight years?
“Save that by one’s training, we do not speak ill of the dead, one would have said a lot more. When the law enforcement agents failed to intercept him for reasons of his ‘supernatural powers’ the then local government chairman was instructed by my administration to find a way of banishing him from Odeda. How they did it was their responsibility. It is possible they got the palace support; that was their duty and responsibility. Both Honourable Soyemi Coker (Aderupoko) and Honourable Kayode Akintunde (Azinge) are still alive and are in a better position to provide adequate information.
“Let us be guided and well informed before drawing conclusions in order to preserve our democracy. Our administration suffered a great deal from deliberate negative propaganda, including operating a killer squad yet there were no dead bodies,” Daniel concluded.
Family, associates mourn Sugar
From the inner recess of the Olatoye family house, you could hear the deceased’s mother sob inconsolably. Her son’s wives and children milled helplessly round her in utter dejection as sympathisers came to condole and pray for the repose of the soul of her son.
Against the background of divergent perceptions about the late lawmaker’s exploits during his lifetime, his parents and loved ones variously eulogised him and recalled his benevolent acts.
During an interview with his father, he said his son lived a deserving life of service to humanity. “My son lived a fruitful life. He did what Napoleon could not do in his days.
“For the short time he lived, he did well to everybody. I was never a politician and I was never interested in politics. In 1998, he went to Osiele in Abeokuta. It was then that he joined politics. But I was not interested in politics because I witnessed what went on in the first republic.
“When he told me he was going into politics, I let him be. All the governors in Ogun State were his friends. He saw to the eradication of cultism in the college of education. He did what he could do for the country.
“He was one of my most important children. He was obedient to me. I was a teacher and farmer. He was very hardworking. His death was unexpected. I thought he would be one of my sons who will bury me. In 2015, when I had my 80th birthday, my son brought his friend, the governor of Ondo State”.
The murder of Hon Olatoye around 5.25p.m. on Saturday, March 9, still casts thick gloom and sordid feelings of apprehension in the minds of his family members, friends and political associates who have since been mourning his tragic death. While the police in Oyo State indicated that it had intensified its search for Olatoye’s killers, most of his friends and associates waited with bathed breath for facts behind his gruesome killing to be unearthed.
With five suspects so far apprehended, the police in the state have said that the murder of the lawmaker did not have political undertone judging by the place and circumstances of his killing. The police had said that it would carefully investigate the Chief Whip of Oyo State House of Assembly, Honourable Wasiu Akinmoyede, with the four others arrested in connection with the killing.
The state Commissioner of Police, Shina Olukolu, said immediately the deceased was shot, the police cordoned off the area where the crime occurred to apprehend the suspected killers, saying, “Concerted efforts were ongoing to uncover and arrest the suspected killers in compliance with the directive of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.”
To family and friends of late honourable Olatoye’s, the arrest and prosecution of the killers is necessary but cannot reverse what they described as “the grave loss.”
Gabriel, Olatoye’s younger brother, said the life that the deceased lived was short but significant. He said, “Though your exit is sudden and painful, the life you lived positively made your short and eventful life, worthwhile and memorable.
“You are forever in our hearts as you came, saw and conquered the ills that characterised the lives of the masses. Till we meet in the morning, My Excellency, as I fondly called you. May your soul rest in perfect peace as God, your Creator, avenges your gruesome murder eternally in the families of people that had hands in cutting your life short at your prime.”
In his remarks in a condolence register that was opened for the deceased, the governor-elect, Mr Seyi Makinde, said: “This is obviously a needless death. My brother and comrade, continue to sleep in the bosom of our God”.
The deputy governor of Oyo State, Moses Adeyemo, wrote, “Late Olatoye Temitope Akanni, your death is not only a loss to your immediate family but the entire people of Oyo State.
“Your contribution to the development of the state cannot be overemphasised but you died prematurely. It is our prayer that those that you have left behind, particularly your parents and children will be taken care of by God almighty. May your soul rest in perfect peace.”
The lawmakers in the state wrote: “The Oyo House of Assembly, led by the speaker and all honourable members commiserate with the family of late honey Olatoye Temitope Sugar on his sudden death. How are the mighty fallen and the weapons of war perished?”
President, Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) Chief Adeyemo Soladoye, wrote: “May the soul of the departed brother, Olatoye Sugar, rest in perfect peace”.
Among the sympathisers who visited the deceased’s family residence were politicians, market women, youth groups and emissaries from Shaki and environs and other communities within and outside the state.
Meanwhile, the family house of the deceased at Alakia is being secured by men of the State Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), Oyo State Police Command, to ensure peace in around the residence during Saturday Tribune’s visit to the area.
