OPC member shoots student to death in Ikere-Ekiti

A man said to be a student of the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka, College of Education, Ikere study centre, Mr Tope Faramo, has been shot dead by local vigilance operatives said to be members of the Odua People’s Congress (OPC) in the community.

Faramo, sources claimed, was shot at about 9:30 pm on Thursday while riding on a commercial motorcycle, allegedly returning to the community from a journey.

A source claimed while relating the incident to Saturday Tribune, that Faramo was shot by a member of a team of OPC members in Ikere community led by Mr Dele Olorunfemi, who has been arrested in connection with the murder.

Members of the community claimed in their various accounts of the incident that harassment of citizens was a common feature of the OPC members in the part of the town where they operated and alleged that they were emboldened by a traditional ruler in the town.

The deceased, the community sources added, was shot at the Winners’ Chapel area of the town and that his body was dumped at the back of College Demonstration School.

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They added that the commercial motorbike operator, whom Faramo had hired, was said to have reported the shooting of his passenger at Anaye police station at Uro Quarters, and was said to have also identified the suspects.

The report of the commercial motorcyclist was said to have been corroborated by another report of the same incident by a cleric, Pastor David Owotobi, who had allegedly stated that the corpse was dumped when members of his church were having an all-night prayer programme.

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“After our programme in the church, our members who were returning home came back to report that a corpse had been dumped very close to our church. I went there and saw the corpse there. I went early morning to the police station to report what we knew happened on our street,” Pastor Owotobi was quoted to have said.

The reports of the alleged murder led to the arrest of Olorunfemi, and was initially detained at the police station at Anaye before being transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).

Meanwhile, the body of the murdered student has been deposited at the mortuary in the State’s Specialist Hospital, Ikere.

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The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Abdullahi Chafe, who confirmed the murder, said only one person has been arrested so far in connection with the incident.

“I can confirm that such an incident occurred. One person has been arrested and he will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation,” Chafe stated.