It has been five years since young Adeife and Akinola Sodipo-Akindeko were killed during an alleged robbery attempt on the convoy of Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello in 2003.
Police investigation had suggested that the siblings were killed by one of the gangs working for Beninois trans-border robbery kingpin, Hammad Tidjani. Police said he specialised in snatching cars from Nigeria and selling them in Cotonou, the capital of neighbouring Benin Republic.

Indeed Tidjani confessed after he was arrested by security agents in Benin and handed over to the Nigerian Police in 2004, that his gang was responsible for the attack.

But a fresh controversy has broken five years after. The mother of the deceased children, Chief Abisola Akindeko, told the gathering at the fifth year anniversary of the death of the siblings on Sunday that the police might have played games with the truth. Her children were not killed by armed robbers, she said, but by hired assassins whose target was Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, daughter of the immediate past president, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo. “They were not armed robbers,” she said repeatedly amid tears.

Recalling the tragedy in a chat with Saturday Punch, Akindeko said she watched her children dying in her presence but could do nothing about it. Describing the past five years as traumatic, Akindeko said she had played the drama backwards so many times and came to the conclusion that the death of her innocent children was avoidable.

She said, “Iyabo was my friend then. And when she called me a few days before the incident, I agreed to see her for whatever she wanted to discuss with me. On the day of the incident, we were both both travelling from Lagos to Abeokuta. Iyabo decided to sit in my car and suggested that my children should move into her own car marked with an FGN number. I did not see anything wrong with that, so I agreed.

“On getting to a bushy section of the Lagos-Abeokuta road, some armed men suddenly emerged from the bush and started spraying her car, probably thinking that she was there. Our own car was in the front while the FGN car was coming behind us. As they started spraying her car, our car accelerated to leave the scene. I told the driver to stop, but he refused. It was when I opened the car door and tried to jump down that he stopped. Then I heard Iyabo telling the drivers, ‘Don’t wait, it’s me they want’.

“By the time I ran back to the (Iyabo’s) car, which my children boarded, the gunmen had escaped. I opened the car door and saw that bullets had torn them to pieces. I did not have to look at them twice before I knew that they were dead. My life came to halt on that day.

“I know that my children died in place of Iyabo. It is painful and unfortunate. “Now my concern has gone beyond the tragedy to other lives that have been cut short. I have found comfort in God.”

She said although she would not blame Iyabo or anybody else for the tragedy, she was surprised that the former president’s daughter had done nothing towards immortalising the kids.

Adeife and Akinola Memorial Child Foundation was established shortly after the children’s death but Akindeko said she was surprised Iyabo showed no interest in it. “Iyabo did not give us a dime, neither did her father or her mother,” she said. The only people that supported the foundation were the late Stella Obasanjo, Titilayo Atiku’s and Prof. Dora Akunyili. The Lagos State Government also changed the name of their school to Adeife Sodipo-Akindeko Memorial School.”

Speaking at a programme organised by the Adeife and Akinola Memorial Child Foundation in commemoration of the fifth year anniversary death of the two children, Abisola said she believed that her children were still living and that the establishment of the foundation was informed by that belief.

She added that the existence of such a foundation was a dream her kids had while they were alive.

Recounting the achievements of the foundation, she said it had helped in the completion of Adeife Sodipo-Akindeko Memorial School as well as providing scholarships for students of the school as well as other orphanage homes. The foundation intends to extend its project by providing free mobile clinics to orphanages and unveiling a mobile Anemia and HIV detection clinic which would be made available to all registered orphanages in Lagos State free of charge.

The foundation was born as a result of the charitable nature of the children and their quest to develop the living standard of impoverished children within the country.

The anniversary featured a fund raising ceremony for the expansion of the foundation’s services to orphanages.

Iyabo could not be reached for comment, as her whereabouts were unknown, even to her fellow senators.


http://punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2008042523523615

in as much as i sympatise with the mother of the Adeifes but can people hust leave iyabo obasanjo bello alone. when her father was in power why wasnt she saying all these. i feel for her but she should please leave iyabo alone.

@kemofash20
well said.
I wonder what she wanted Iyabo to do.
If she had given her money, she would have been saying today that Iyabo put her in trouble.

In Africa the problem is "if you do people will talk. If you do not they will talk."

So what do you do?

I truly sympathize with her though.

Don't you guys even read?

1. She was in her own car with her kids until Iyabo came in and suggested that the kids move to her (iyabo's) car

2. the kids were killed by bullets meant for iyabo


That means, while Iyabo has no compulsion to do anything, it's only decent that she at least shows some interest and support for the memorial foundation. Simple as that. It doesn't neccessarily mean she's doing a cheap hustle to make money.
This interview wasn't a random discussion to pull her down. it's actually the 5th year anniversary of her children's deaths. People tend to relive tragedies on the anniversaries.


Steve Jobs was right. People don't read anymore.

na wa o i guess you should read the story again. they did the 1st, 2nd 3rd anniversaries and she did not reveal all this. now on the 5th anniversery bshe is revealling all. I know she is really pained but at this point in time when iyabo goin through all this she is now spitting all this now she is refering to iyabo as her former friend

we nigerians have a way of dissasociating ourselves from falling people all the time and this the trait mrs adeife just exhibited

Kemofash
You still didn't read!
yes, there have been 4 other anniversaries, but this time there was a formal event to commemorate their deaths. She spoke at the formal event. That's the difference.

Please apply not only logic, but human feeling to your argument. Losing children is bound to be a traumatizing experience, and if your friend's presence indirectly led to the deaths of your children, you'll tend to hold it against them in some way. Especially when the said friend was the one that suggested that the kids move to the car they were eventually killed in.

The woman has tried by at least not hating iYabo. but blaming her for not being all chummy with iyabo is totally out of this world.

kemofash20:

I know she is really pained but at this point in time when iyabo goin through all this she is now spitting all this now she is refering to iyabo as her former friend

if you genuinely can compare what iyabo is 'going through' to what this woman has to relive every day since her pride and joy was killed, then there's no human feeling left in you.

kemofash20:

“By the time I ran back to the (Iyabo’s) car, which my children boarded, the gunmen had escaped. I opened the car door and saw that bullets had torn them to pieces. I did not have to look at them twice before I knew that they were dead. My life came to halt on that day.

Please read the part in bold above, then tell us again what iyabo is going through.

there were ceremonies at the 1st anniversary and all these were not revealed and the truth is dat if iyabi have had actually helped no one ll know. i dont believe that iyabo wouldnt have done something to console her noo, even abacha that was heartless ll still send condolences to the camp of his enemies after he has killed dem. so i know that this situation pained iyabo (at least with her interview after the incident) . now the question is wat does she want to be done by Iyabo.

Hey people! Do you have kids? 'Am sure those two little angels don't deserve to die the way they did. For crying out loud they were butchered to death in Iyabo Obasanjo's car. They died her death. They had all been together shortly before then as family friends. That and the fact they were killed in her car is more than enough reason for her to join in keeping their memories alive. To do her possible best in supporting any cause in remembrance of the two little angels. That I don't think is too much to ask. Nobody would ever pray for his/her kids to even die not to talk of dieing the way they did!!! I feel for the kiddies mum and I pray God will continue to give her the strength and fortitude to bear the loss of two children at the same time.

Hey people! Do you have kids? 'Am sure those two little angels don't deserve to die the way they did. For crying out loud they were butchered to death in Iyabo Obasanjo's car. They died her death. They had all been together shortly before then as family friends. That and the fact they were killed in her car is more than enough reason for her to join in keeping their memories alive. To do her possible best in supporting any cause in remembrance of the two little angels. That I don't think is too much to ask. Nobody would ever pray for his/her kids to even die not to talk of dieing the way they did!!! I wouldn't wish that for my enemy. I feel for the kiddies mum and I pray God will continue to give her the strength and fortitude to bear the loss of two children at the same time.

@ Kemofash. You obviously have no children, which is a good thing, given your incredible callousness.
Take your head out of Iyabo Obasanjo's fat, thieving ass long enough to re-read your disgraceful posts. For the sake of your innocent children, if you have any,I pray what befell poor Mrs Akindeko never happens to you.
You really disgust me.

Arielle:


Take your head out of Iyabo Obasanjo's fat, thieving ass long enough to re-read your disgraceful posts.

You really disgust me.

Arielle you are to the written word as Michelangelo is to sculpture.

I found myself literally moved to tears at the sheer poetic beauty of the above quote.

It is 7 years today that those beautiful children died. we went to the same school, Adeife took over from me as Head Girl but never got to serve her term.

For all of you being thoughtless about it all, they were REAL CHILDREN, try to have some compassion for their mother. That woman was broken at the funeral, it wasn't even funny.

its a feeling about 99% of us will never go through, losing two children in one day.


ADEIFE AND AKINOLA, REST IN PEACE, WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN.
Bleep

Really sad for the innocent children.

There are more dimensions to the story ,I recall the woman was engaged in a bitter custody/divorce battle with the kids father at the time.

@ All
[b]She said, “Iyabo was my friend then. And when she called me a few days before the incident, I agreed to see her for whatever she wanted to discuss with me. On the day of the incident, we were both both travelling from Lagos to Abeokuta. Iyabo decided to sit in my car and suggested that my children should move into her own car marked with an FGN number. I did not see anything wrong with that, so I agreed.

“On getting to a bushy section of the Lagos-Abeokuta road, some armed men suddenly emerged from the bush and started spraying her car, probably thinking that she was there. Our own car was in the front while the FGN car was coming behind us. As they started spraying her car, our car accelerated to leave the scene. I told the driver to stop, but he refused. It was when I opened the car door and tried to jump down that he stopped. Then I heard Iyabo telling the drivers, ‘Don’t wait, it’s me they want’.

“By the time I ran back to the (Iyabo’s) car, which my children boarded, the gunmen had escaped. I opened the car door and saw that bullets had torn them to pieces. I did not have to look at them twice before I knew that they were dead. My life came to halt on that day.

“I know that my children died in place of Iyabo. It is painful and unfortunate. “Now my concern has gone beyond the tragedy to other lives that have been cut short. I have found comfort in God.”[/b]

Read guys

the accused refused to show any sympathy,