Gunmen Kill Ogun High Chief

James Sowole in Abeokuta

Tension has gripped Sagamu, the headquarters of Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, following the gruesome murder of a member of Akarigbo-in-Council, Chief Abiodun Folarin, last Monday night by suspected gunmen.

 The deceased, until his death, was said to be the Bashorun Akarigbo and Baasegun Itunsokun community in Sagamu.

It was learnt that the assailants, who were three in number, stormed the Itunsokun, Sagamu residence of the popular traditional chief at around 10:45p.m. last Monday in a Toyota Camry car.

The hoodlums were said to have shot into the air to scare residents of the area, after which they went straight after their target, shot him dead and left the scene without taking anything away.

Two traditional rulers, who did not want their names mentioned, confirmed the assassination of the traditional chief.

One of the monarchs said: “it was true that Chief Folarin was killed by suspected gunmen, but I don’t have much information about the incident. We heard that the chief who is a popular traditional chief and member of Akarigbo-in-council was killed last night. He is popularly called Baasegun, and we, however, cannot say these are the people that were responsible for the terrible acts. We leave the police and other security agencies to do their job.”

Also, a staff of Sagamu Local Government Area, who pleaded anonymity, said the incident also made the LG workers to hurriedly shut down for the day to avoid being caught in any act of violence which the grievous killing could cause.

The source said: “Already, tension is very high in the town as I speak to you; workers are already moving out of the local government secretariat to avoid being caught in any form of crisis. Many are saying the man was killed by cultists but no one could really confirm this, the information is still scanty now.”

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of Ogun State Police Command, Omolola Odutola, described it as pure assassination, saying the hoodlums did not take anything away from the deceased house.

She said: “The incident happened on Monday night at about 10:45p.m. at Itunsokun residence of the deceased. The victim’s name is Bashorun Abiodun Folarin. He is said to be the Bashorun Akarigbo.

“Three gunmen were said to have come in a Toyota Camry car, shot into the air to disperse the people and then went to shoot dead the deceased who was said to be sitting at that moment.

“This is a case of suspected murder or assassination because the unknown gunmen did not take anything away. At the scene of the crime, two expended cartridges were recovered. The deceased, being a Muslim, had been buried.

“The truth is that the culprits will soon be brought to book. The police have swung into action. The Sagamu Area Commander has started investigation on the matter and very soon those responsible for this heinous crime will be brought to justice.”