Killing of Ekiti traditional rulers painful, unfortunate — Sultan

The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has expressed deep concern about the recent murder of two Ekiti traditional rulers, describing the development as extremely painful and very unfortunate and one that must be condemned by all.

The Sultan said this on Friday in his reaction to a statement by his media team, noting sadly that the guts with which traditional rulers were ambushed and taken down, as if life no longer matters in the land, made “perpetrators of such heinous, wicked, and condemnable acts unfit to remain amidst the human community if found.”

It will be recalled that two traditional rulers, the Onimojo of Imojo-Ekiti, Oba (Prof.) Samuel Olushola, and the Elesun of Esun-Ekiti, Oba David Ogunsakin, were killed on Monday by yet-identified gunmen while returning from a security meeting in the Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

Sultan Abubakar, who is also Chairman, National Traditional Rulers Council of Nigeria, while expressing deep concern on the incident, which he described as “extremely painful and very unfortunate,” recalled that the late Onimojo, as an important monarch, was on the entourage of Attah of Aiyede, Oba AbdulMumini Adebayo Orishagbemi, when he paid him a visit in Sokoto and was conspicuously on the ground to be part of his rousing reception during his return visit to Aiyede Kingdom, in Ekiti State in the past.

He, therefore, called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Kayode Egbetokun, and heads of other relevant security agencies in the country to go after the killers and present them before the law of the land for justice to be done.

“The police should take its anti-crime battle to these criminals now, wherever they are, whoever they are, and ensure that no matter their status and stature in society, they should not be spared and must be brought to justice, while efforts must be made to henceforth prevent repeats of such dastardly acts before they happen in the future,” the Sultan said.

Meanwhile, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has extended his condolences to the government of Ekiti State, the Attah of Aiyede Kingdom, the immediate families of the slain Onimojo and Elesun, as well as the entire people of their respective towns, praying that Allah would grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.