One of Nigeria's most prominent Fuji
musicians, Wasiu Alabi Odetola,
popularly
known as Pasuma Wonder is currently
enmeshed in a murder mess.
From all indications, the Fuji veteran
who recently celebrated 20 years on
stage may be on his way into police net
if matters are not well handled. Eye
witnesses are saying that a member of
the convoy of the Fuji star over-ran a
teenage fan after Pasuma's vehicle
knocked down the victim on their way
from a show at Idimu-Council area of
Alimosho Local Government Area of
Lagos State.
The victim, Bidemi, a 12-year old fan of
the 'Orobokibo' singer is said to have
been lurking around to get a glimpse of
the star as he was leaving the St.
Augustine Events Hall, Isheri-Idimu
where the show took place only to lose
his life in the process.
'Pasuma was trying to avoid the area
boys as he was leaving and so he was
driving fast and it happened that he
knocked the boy down and the vehicle
behind him ran over the boy', an eye
witness said.
Pasuma is said to have been driving in
his newly acquired Range Rover Sports
and did not bother to slow down to find
out what had happened. 'He sped
off without caring', another eye witness
said. But the singer's minders insist he's
innocent and absolutely unaware of
what happened after he left the event
venue.
Those close to Pasuma said he wasn't
initially aware of the situation and that
the decease may have been hit by a
random car coming behind the
musician.
Investigations reveal that 'Paso', as the
singer is fondly called in the streets was
trying to avoid the area boys who were
desperate to extort him. It has become
an accepted tradition in the Fuji
industry, for Fuji artistes who perform
in an area to 'settle' the area boys
because they form the largest
percentage of their fan base.
Pasuma according to a few 'area boys'
who were at the scene of the incident
said the self- acclaimed Oganla of Fuji is
fond of not 'settling' the area boys and
it was in this bid to avoid being
extorted that led to the untimely death
of the teenager.
'Paso no dey like to settle. Na because
e no wan settle make am drive fast like
that', one of the area boys said.
Other sources say he actually tipped
fans and some miscreants, but like
Oliver Twist, some camps wanted more
and the musician sped off after he had
had enough. Speaking in a telephone
conversation, Pasuma's manager,
Afolabi Oyekoya refused to confirm or
deny the allegations. He was yet to
issue an official statement as at press
time, and NET enquiries were left
unanswered.
The family of the victim could not be
reached for comment. Our
correspondents' visit to the St.
Augustine Events Centre, venue of the
show did not yield results as the
management refused to comment on
the incident.
All efforts to get the police officers at
Idimu Police Station Area M also proved
abortive, as the officers refused to
entertain any questions and directed
that we referred the inquiry to the
office of the Police Public Relations
Officer, PPRO, whose number was
switched off at the time.
Pasuma is not the first celebrity to be
involved in a hit and run. Years ago, the
current president of the Actors' Guild of
Nigeria, Ibinabo Fiberesima was
arrested and imprisoned for killing a
Lagos doctor.
Also, last year, singer Terry G was
alleged to have been involved in a hit
and run situation. It is not clear how
the case ended.
No comments:
Post a Comment