Alhaji Kazeem Ayodele, a retired school principal living in the Uselu area of Owo in Ondo State, has been accused of killing his neighbour, 45 year old Caroline Oluwaseun Aghoi, following a dispute over two pawpaw trees.
The deceased was a mother of four.
The incident reportedly happened on Friday, 6 March, 2026.
In Caroline’s compound were two pawpaw trees whose branches, leaves, and fruits extended into Kazeem’s compound through the fence they both shared.
Kazeem had repeatedly complained about the trees, saying that ripe pawpaw and leaves often fell into his compound from across the wall.
After several complaints, Caroline’s husband, who works as a driver, agreed to cut down one of the trees but refused to remove the second one because he liked pawpaw.
On Friday, 6 March, 2026, the disagreement took a violent turn when Kazeem allegedly confronted Caroline with a large plank. As the situation escalated, Caroline quickly called her husband on the phone.
While she was still speaking with him, he reportedly heard a loud bang and the call suddenly ended.
Alarmed, he rushed home and found his wife lying in a pool of blood.
She was immediately taken to the hospital, where doctors later confirmed her dead.
After the incident, Kazeem reportedly locked himself inside his house before attempting to escape.
However, he was later apprehended near the Second Transformer Junction in the area and only the intervention of the deceased’s husband and community leaders that prevented the suspect from being lynched.
He was eventually handed over to the police and is now being detained at the state police headquarters in Akure.
