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The family also alleged that Ikuesan had previously taken some men to Malo’s residence and that Malo expressed fears for his life shortly before he was found dead.
Police have arrested Alex Ikuesan, son of the Olubo of Obenla Kingdom, Oba Andrew Kolawole Ikuesan, in connection with the death of Prince Engineer Ojogo Malo following a financial dispute involving millions of naira in Ondo State.Ikuesan, who is also related to Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, was reportedly arrested by the police at the Okitipupa Divisional Police Station and later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Ondo for further investigation.
Malo was found dead on October 3, 2026, after a series of confrontations, threats and disputes allegedly linked to financial transactions between him and Ikuesan.
A family member and a lawyer who separately spoke to SaharaReporters said the dispute involved several transactions, including an alleged N14 million payment, a N12 million loan claim and another N6.2 million debt allegedly connected to petroleum products supplied on credit.
The family also alleged that Ikuesan had previously taken some men to Malo’s residence and that Malo expressed fears for his life shortly before he was found dead.
Suspect, Alex Ikuesan, son of the Olubo of Obenla Kingdom, Oba Andrew Kolawole Ikuesan
Lawyer recounts failed mediation
Wale Odusola, a lawyer who had attempted to mediate the financial disagreement between the two men, told SaharaReporters on Monday that both Ikuesan and Malo were like younger brothers to him.
He said Ikuesan initially contacted him over money he claimed Malo owed him, prompting him to invite both men to his office for settlement.
“The two of them, both the victim and the person accused, are like younger brothers to me.
“We normally call the son of the king ‘Prince’.
“So, Prince called me to report the deceased to me that the deceased owed him some money.
“I immediately summoned the two of them to my office to settle the matter. We had almost settled the matter when the meeting was disrupted by Prince because, according to him, while the deceased was trying to show me evidence on his phone about how he transferred N12 million to Prince, Prince said he pushed him.
“I did not see him push Prince, but Prince said he pushed him and this resulted in an altercation.
“At that point, we could not continue with the settlement because I felt that Prince was disrespectful to me by starting the altercation.”
Odusola said the meeting established that Malo did not personally owe Ikuesan the money being demanded.
“However, we were able to reach a conclusion that the deceased did not owe Prince personally but he only stood for some of Prince’s customers who bought petroleum from Prince’s manager on credit amounting to N6.2 million,” he said.
“Prince insisted that since he stood for the debtors, the deceased should be the one to pay back.
“The deceased accepted to go and look for the debtors and ensure that they pay their debts.
“Then the deceased made a counterclaim that he gave a soft loan of N12 million to Prince and that Prince had only paid back N10 million, leaving a balance of N2 million.
“Prince disagreed and became hostile.”
Odusola said the dispute escalated when Malo attempted to show him evidence of the N12 million transaction on his phone.
He said the meeting was eventually terminated because of the altercation and he advised Malo to report the matter to Ikuesan’s father.
Family alleges N14m transaction, N6.2m debt
Malo’s brother, Barrister Francis Malo, who is also a member of the Ojogo family, gave a separate account of the events leading to his brother’s death.
Francis said Ikuesan had complained that Malo had stopped answering his calls for about three months.
He said he became involved after someone reported Malo to him, prompting him to ask his brother to call Ikuesan in his presence.
According to Francis, Ikuesan arrived at his hotel shortly after the call.
He said Ikuesan told him that Malo had allowed him to use a filling station belonging to the family in Ulu 2 and had also provided financial assistance to him.
“He said that my brother gave him his filling station. He approached my brother and asked if he could use his petrol station, the one at the Riveran area, Ulu 2, that is the name of our community,” Francis said.
“My brother allowed him to use the petrol station because Alex (Ikuesan) had an approved petrol station and was operating it, but I don’t know whether he was having financial problems. So, my brother allowed him to use the petrol station.”
Francis said Malo also gave Ikuesan N14 million to support his business.
“Malo even gave him N14 million. He told me that he gave him N14 million, and I confirmed it with Alex.
“I asked, ‘Is it true that Malo gave you N14 million?’
Deceased, Prince Engineer Ojogo Malo
“Alex said, ‘Yes, he gave him N14 million to support his business.’”
Francis said Malo subsequently recovered the N14 million but that other financial disagreements remained between the two men.
He said Ikuesan later claimed that Malo owed him N6.2 million because his manager had sold petroleum products on credit.
“Alex said his manager sold the fuel out, and that the fuel which the manager sold out would be paid by my brother,” Francis said.
Francis said he challenged the basis of the claim, particularly because Malo had allegedly not personally received the money.
He also said Ikuesan became confrontational during their discussion and threatened his brother.
“Right in my presence, they started threatening Malo.
“He threatened the engineer, Ojogo Malo, my younger brother,” Francis said.
Petroleum dealer disputes debt claim
Francis also mentioned an oil dealer, Tosin Ogono, who he said had supplied petroleum products to the filling station.
According to Francis, Ogono confirmed that Ikuesan had been operating from Malo’s filling station and that Malo later paid for petroleum products supplied there.
Francis said Ogono told him that after Malo withdrew the N14 million, Ikuesan no longer had sufficient funds to continue operating the business.
He said Ogono subsequently supplied additional petroleum products and Malo paid about N18.7 million for them.
“My brother, Engineer Ojogo Malo, paid.
“He paid into Mr. Tosin Ogono’s account. And Mr. Ogono acknowledged that to me too, that he received such an amount of money and that the man was not owing him,” Francis said.
Francis said Ogono also told him that he had intervened in the dispute and that Ikuesan’s manager could not substantiate the allegation that Malo owed N6.2 million.
“I asked, ‘Did you understand that Prince Alex is asking this guy for some money?’
“He said he had also intervened in that matter at the time. He called the manager, and the manager could not substantiate that Engineer Ojogo Malo, my younger brother, was owing him,” Francis said.
Francis said he expected Ikuesan to produce the manager to explain the alleged N6.2 million debt, but this did not happen.
Meeting held before Malo’s death
Francis said Ikuesan later reported his brother to lawyers Barrister Omolegbon Odusola and Barrister Omotola Odusola, a former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Okitipupa branch.
He said a meeting was subsequently held on October 2 at Omolegbon Odusola’s office.
Francis said he could not attend because he had travelled to Ore, but he took Malo to the meeting before leaving.
He said Malo later told him that the meeting had also become contentious, with Ikuesan allegedly becoming disruptive.
Francis said threats were allegedly made against his brother during the meeting.
Family alleges men visited Malo’s home
Francis said that after the meeting, Malo received calls from neighbours informing him that some men had visited his residence.
According to him, the men were allegedly connected to Ikuesan.
Francis said Malo subsequently contacted him and others, expressing fears that Ikuesan was after his life.
“After meeting with Alex at Omotola Odusola’s office, when day broke, my brother called me overnight. He called me several times. There were several notifications of his calls.
“When I returned the call, he said Alex came to his house and brought some men to his house to invade him.
“He said he did not know what he had done to Alex and that Alex was after his life.
“The same call he put to me, he also put across to Barrister Omotola Odusola, saying that Alex was after his life at that time.”
Francis said Malo left his home early on October 3 and was later found dead.
“Very early in the morning, on the 3rd, Ojogo Malo, we don’t know the kind of calls he received, left his house and went out.
“And the next thing we saw was his dead body.
“They saw his dead body on the road.”
He also alleged that two unfamiliar men had been seen at Malo’s residence before his death.
Ikuesan arrested, transferred to State CID
Francis confirmed that Ikuesan had been arrested and transferred to the Ondo State CID.
“Alex has been apprehended by the Nigerian police. He was brought to the State CID,” Francis said.
“He has been brought to the State CID. I’m also at the State CID now with other family members.
“I think part of the statement he gave was that he admitted that he actually went to his house.
“He admitted that he went to his house.”
The family is now demanding a full investigation into Malo’s death and prosecution of anyone found responsible.
“We want justice, and we also want all the security agencies in Ondo State to come to our rescue.
“We want the Governor of Ondo State and all members of the family to come to our rescue and help us make sure that justice prevails,” Francis said.
Family confirms relationship with Aiyedatiwa
Francis also confirmed that Ikuesan’s father, Oba Ikuesan, is related to Governor Aiyedatiwa.
The police had not publicly disclosed the details of their investigation or announced any charge against Ikuesan as of the time of filing this report.
The circumstances surrounding Malo’s death, including the cause of death and the identity of those who may have been involved, were also yet to be officially established.
SOURCE: SAHARA REPORTERS
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