From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Gunmen are reported to have assassinated a hotelier, Kehinde Ibidunni, and his wife, Elizabeth, in Atan-Ota, Ado-Odo/Ota, Ogun State.
The 63-year-old man and his wife, 54, were reportedly shot dead by the gunmen who broke into their residence at Atan-Ota in the early hours of Tuesday.
It was learnt that when the assailants stormed the victims’ residence at No 15 Tella Ojo Crescent, Atan-Ota, around 3 pm, they forced their way into the house through a burglary proof, the noise catching the attention of a little girl who was residing with the late couple.
The little girl is said to have immediately rushed to Mr Ibidunni’s room to alert him about the break-in, but when he emerged to investigate the ‘strange visitors,’ he was reportedly shot in the chest and died on the spot.
The hoodlums later got hold of his wife, beating her before finally shooting her dead, Daily Sun learnt.
A son of the deceased couple, simply identified as Olayinka, told Daily Sun that the incident was an ‘assassination’. He said his parents were murdered barely a month after they attended his wedding in Abuja.
‘They stayed alone in the house,’ Olayinka said, narrating the incident.
‘They have a little girl staying with them in the house for support. At about 3 am on April 27, the girl heard some people trying to gain access into the house through the burglary proof. She immediately stood up, went to my dad’s room and called him that some people were trying to gain entrance.
‘When my dad showed up to ask about the people, they shot him in the chest straight up. So, he died instantly. After they killed him, they gained access into the house. They went into the room, they met my mum, they beat her, they stabbed her and finally they shot her. They killed the two of them and, after that, they scattered the whole house, they took the little money they could lay their hands on and they left,’ Olayinka said.
‘From what we know and what the police are saying, it is a case of assassination. We can’t tell what type of robbery that led to killing of husband and wife. I think it is an assassination case,’ he added.
He further stated that the police had taken the corpses to the morgue.
‘The police were around all through, they were even the ones who took the corpses to the morgue. They told us that they have not laid their hands on any concrete evidence, but they are still trying to interview some people. We were even at the station as at yesterday (Tuesday),’ Olayinka stated.
Describing his parents as ‘peaceful and loving,’ Olayinka indicated that the family has concluded plans to bury the couple on Friday.
Ogun State police spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi did not respond to calls and texts to confirm the incident.