Gunmen kill community chief in Ekiti, set corpse ablaze

The Ikole-Ekiti community of Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State has been thrown into mourning following the killing of a 35-year-old chief by suspected gunmen.

The deceased, identified as Chief Sola Fatunla, was the Onibedo of Ilotin and was said to have been killed on Sunday while his corpse was set ablaze by the gunmen.

A source in the community said the attack was allegedly led by a man simply identified as Sunday from Benue who was said to be involved in charcoal business in the community.

The source who pleaded anonymity said, “Sunday accused Chief Fatunla of snatching his wife. Both Sunday and the lady were married with two kids before the marriage collapsed.

“After Sunday had found out that the lady and Chief Fatunla were merely family friends, he apologised to him, only for Sunday to plead with Fatunla to assist him in using his position as a chief in Ikole Ekiti to plead with those he claimed seized his charcoal.

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“While accompanying him to where his charcoal was seized on Sunday, the  man was said to have connived with others to abduct Chief Fatunla and the lady somewhere around Iyemero Ekiti, in Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State. He was tied to a tree, strangled to death and his corpse set on fire.”

The source added that the lady escaped from the abductors while Sunday and his other accomplices, who had fled, were caught by vigilante men in Patigi area of Kwara State.

He added: “When the vigilante men stopped Sunday and his gangs and were questioning them as to their mission in the area, especially during the lockdown occasioned by the outbreak of the coronavirus, Chief Fatunla’s phone that Sunday kept in his pocket rang and he refused to answer the call. One of the vigilante men collected the phone and answered the call only to be told that the owner of the phone was abducted. The vigilante then handed Sunday and others to the police in Kwara State.”

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Ekiti State command, Sunday Abutu, who confirmed the incident told Tribune Online he would soon make public more details about the incident.

“There was a murder case, one of the chiefs in Ikole Ekiti was murdered on the farm. We are still trying to investigate the matter. We are still on the investigation, I will get back to you on the details,” the police spokesman said.