Gunmen Kill APC Chieftain, 2 Others in Ekiti

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

Former Personal Assistant to ex-Governor Segun Oni, Mr. Bunmi Ojo and two others were on Friday’s night killed by unknown gunmen in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.

It was gathered that Ojo, who is presently a Commissioner on the Board of the Federal Character Commission(FCC) in Abuja, was shot by the gunmen at about 10 pm at a viewing centre in Adebayo Area, along Iworoko in the State capital.

Identities of the two other men that were killed with him are yet to be ascertained at the time of filing this report.

A source revealed that Ojo, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress(APC) was said to have gone in company of some of his political friends to the centre before tragedy struck.

He said the gun- wielding men numbering six invaded the centre and shot the victims during a sporadic shooting.

The deceased was reportedly shot in the head and stomach and his body has been deposited at the morgue of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti .

The tragic incident has thrown the camp of Oni of the APC into mourning and confusion, as many are beginning to read political meaning to the gruesome murder of a staunch loyalist of the former governor.

A source within Oni’s camp revealed that Ojo was nursing political ambition ahead of 2019, saying he had the intention of contesting for the House of Representatives in Ekiti North Federal Constituency II.

The Federal Constituency comprise Ido/Osi, Ilejemeje and Moba Local Governments.

The source said: “This killing had fueled the insinuation that Ojo’s death must have been politically motivated. He had aspiration and he had made contacts with his group and they were already doing underground
works .

“Again, several efforts had been made to ensure that he gets presidential nod for second term on the board of FCC, so this is another angle to this killing”, he stated.

But a source said Ojo must have been a victim of circumstance surrounding the rampage by cultists in Adebayo area in recent time.

This source said: “Several people have been killed in Adebayo area of recent. I learnt the killers were cultists and they had a target at the viewing centre which might not likely to be him.

“Those who were killed, including governor Oni’s Personal Assistant must have been killed in error, because they are not likely to be the target”, this source said.

The Police Public Relation Officer, Ekiti Command, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu, could not be reached to confirm the killing.

Several calls to his phone by our correspondent were not picked.

However, the Media Office of Ekiti State Governor-Elect, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has commiserated with the family of the member of the APC over Ojo’s killing.

In a statement by the Director of Media and Publicity, Wole Olujobi, Fayemi expressed shock and sadness over the late Ojo’s murder, saying that the killing of the late politician was a sad commentary that shattered the relative peace the state had enjoyed after the July 14 governorship poll.

While commiserating with the family of the late politician, Fayemi charged security agencies to live up to their responsibility to get to the root of the killing and bring perpetrators to justice.

“This is a sad development that should not be allowed to go away without getting to the root of this killing, but then the public must give security agencies chance to do their job to get to the root of this sad development and security agencies are enjoined to swing into action to apprehend the perpetrators of this heinous crime to check
the activities of criminals in Ekiti State.

Also in another release by APC, its Publicity Secretary , Hon. Taiwo Olatunbosun, rued the untimely death of its chieftain and called on the security operatives to fish out the perpetrators without delay.

“Those who knew Bunmi (Ojo) cannot but liked him, he was an easy-going and upright politician who cultivated friendship in both high and low places, which endeared him to many people”, said the APC Publicity Secretary, adding that his death could not be far from political machinations.

“We will not rest until the assailants are fished out. This is a test of efficiency for the police and other security operatives,” Olatunbosun stated.