By Damilare Adeleye
Unknown gunmen has reportedly killed a councilorship candidate, Adeyinka Adeleke, in the Jide Jones area of Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The deceased was said to be running for Abeokuta South Local Government Ward 15 in the forthcoming November 16 Local Government elections under the All Progressives Congress.
It was reported that suspected assailants stormed the area on Saturday in a tinted car while shooting sporadically.
A source privy to the incident told newsmen that the gunmen attacked Adeleke, shot at him and left him in the pool of his blood.
A video of the incident which surfaced online showed the lifeless body of Adeleke while sympathisers’ voices were heard in the background wailing.
The source said, “Some gunmen killed the All Progressives Congress councilorship candidate for Ibara Ward 15, Adeyinka Adeleke, today.
“The gunmen came in a tinted car, shot him, and hit him with stones till he died. There was tension in the area as people were scampering for safety.”
Another source, who sought anonymity, narrated that the assailants arrived in a tinted car from which one of them stepped out, shot Adeyinka at close range and later smashed his head ensuring that the victim was dead.The deceased was said to have been a transport union worker in the Panseke area of Abeokuta during his lifetime.
“The Killing happened around 2 pm, it took everybody by surprise… No one knows if it is a cultist attack or not. The people in the area are already locking their shops, everywhere is tensed up now, it is so sad,” the source said.
The spokesperson of Ogun State Police command, SP Omolola Odutola, has also confirmed the killing.
She said the murder happened at 12:30 p.m., as reported to the police by a concerned citizen.
She said: “A concerned citizen reported that unknown individuals believed to be cultists arrived in an unregistered Toyota Corolla sport car, armed with a pump action shotgun and a pistol at Jide Jones, Oke Ilewo, Ibara, Abeokuta.
“The assailants opened fire killing 40-year-old Adeyinka Adeleke, who was left dead at the scene before the perpetrators fled.”
Odutola added that one Adeyinka Adesanya has requested for the body of the deceased for burial.
She said that photos of the crime scene has been taken, while normalcy has been restored to the area.
Odutola added that efforts are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects.