Metro

How Gunmen Killed My Colleagues, Ekiti Monarch Recounts Narrow Escape

Published

1 year ago

February 5, 2024

The Alara of Ara in the Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Oba Adebayo Fatoba, has narrated how he managed to escape from gunmen who attacked and killed two of his colleagues last Monday.

Fatoba, along with two other monarchs from the state – Onimojo of Imojo Ekiti in Oye LG and the Elesun of Esun Ekiti in Ajoni, Ikole Local Government of Ekiti State, were attacked by the gunmen while returning from a meeting.

The other two monarchs were killed by the assailants while Fatoba was lucky to have escaped.

Narrating the ordeal to Awikonko TV Live, in a video seen by our correspondent late Sunday, Fatoba stated that the community had sought permission from the state police to tackle herders who have been attacking the communities.

Fatoba stated, “We have a security committee in the local government. There are 25 communities in Ikole Local Government Area. When Fulani people started coming in to graze and do all sorts, we got permission from the police to assist them. This was about three or four years ago. I was made the chairman of the committee. One of my counterparts who was killed (Onimojo of Imojo) was the deputy and we used to go everywhere. We volunteered to do it for Yoruba land.

“So it happened that they came to check some people’s houses between Aiyebode and Aiyedun communities. They killed someone there. Then, my deputy called to tell me that these people were back. It was on a Sunday so I told him that I would come on Monday.”

The monarch stated that while they were in motion, he was busy reading something on his phone before realising that the vehicle had stopped.

“I was reading something on my phone when I suddenly felt that the driver slammed the brakes. As we looked up, we saw guns pointed at us. If they were kidnappers, they would ask us to get down, raise our hands and so on.

“I wish I could show you my body, you would have seen the cuts,” Fatoba stated, adding that he still feels the pain from the attack.

The monarch narrated that he managed to escape from the scene, stating, “I noticed that they didn’t understand English. They were with a big machete and they had other ones too. I saw an AK-47, a pump-action gun and a locally-made one.”

The monarch recalled that as he wanted to get out of the vehicle, one of the assailants tried to hit his head with a weapon but he used the door to protect himself “so it was the door that was hit.”

“It was a war zone,” he added.

According to Fatoba, he could hear the sound of gunshots behind him as he ran.

“People who said that I disappeared, I want them to know that it is a lie. I ran to the security guards that we put in that area because it had been a hotspot. I wanted to get to them,” he said.

He said when he got to one of the security guards, he asked him to shoot into the air but the gun jammed.

Fatoba further added that due to fear, the guards couldn’t come near them for a rescue operation.

When asked how the driver was not killed, he said, “They didn’t concentrate on the driver. He wore a shirt and had a small stature. They only collected the car key. They killed the others,” he said ruling out notions that he and his driver escaped with the aid of spiritual power.

The monarch added, “What happened was that they first came to me. Two came out from my right side and one from the left side. They came aggressively. The moment they collected the car key from my driver, they left him. He prostrated on the floor with his hands on the ground.

“As for me, I fought my way out and they shot. I heard the gunshots. God didn’t allow the shots to hit me. By the time I looked back, my colleagues were on the ground. I don’t know how that happened. Some cars that were behind us had to reverse.

“I was reading something on my phone at the time, so the attack came as a surprise. I lost my phone but the security guard had the phone number of the monarch whose community was close by. It was the monarch who mobilised more security guards to meet us there.”

However, the Ekiti State Police Command said its operatives have arrested one suspect linked to the killing of the two traditional rulers.

The Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Dare Ogundare, said that the suspect, Babusa Lede, had confessed to involvement in the killing of the two monarchs, adding that efforts were on to apprehend others involved.

Metro

Tragedy As UNIZIK Undergraduate Jumps From Three-storey Building, Dies

Published

3 hours ago

June 6, 2025

Editor

Tragedy struck at a private lodge near Royal Kitchen Junction, Ifite-Awka, Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, late Thursday, when a male student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, jumped from a three-storey building and died.

It was gathered that the student (name withheld) jumped from the balcony of the building located near the school after allegedly consuming some unknown substances suspected to be “mkpurummiri”.

According to eyewitnesses near the scene, after the victim fell to the ground, all efforts to bring him back to life proved abortive, as he was later confirmed dead in a nearby hospital, where he was rushed.

One of the sources said, “We suddenly heard a loud thud yesterday (Thursday) evening, prompting a rush to the scene where the young man was found lying in a pool of his own blood, critically injured.

“The victim, whose name is being withheld pending notification of his family, was identified as a tenant in the lodge. Shockingly, when concerned residents checked his room, his roommate was found in an incoherent state, allegedly under the influence of the same substances they had taken earlier.

“Despite efforts to save him, the student was confirmed dead at a nearby hospital. Authorities are working diligently to contact the deceased’s family and investigate the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”

It was further gathered that the roommate of the victim is currently in custody and will be questioned further once he regains stability.

Contacted on the development on Friday, the Chief Safety Officer at UNIZIK, Ken Chukwurah, confirmed the incident, adding that the incident happened at a private lodge outside the school, and an investigation is ongoing.

Chukwurah said, “We are still investigating to be sure of what happened, how it happened and the proper identity of the victim.

“It happened in a private lodge outside the school, and we don’t have control over who is admitted to such lodges.”

Metro

Police Arrest 28 Suspected Cultists In Edo

Published

4 hours ago

June 6, 2025

Editor

The Edo State Police Command has announced the arrest of 28 suspected involved in cult-related activities across the state.

According to a statement issued on Friday by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, the arrests were made during a raid on criminal hideouts.

He stated that following thorough screening, 19 of the suspects were found culpable and subsequently charged to court.

Yamu also revealed that three of the suspects confessed to being members of cult groups and have already been arraigned.

The statement reads, “The Edo State Command has sustained its fight against crime through visibility policing, community engagements and sustained raids of criminal hideouts in the State.

“On 4/6/2025 between 16:00 hours and 22:00 hours, operatives of the Command carried out raids of criminal hideouts within Benin-City.

“During the raids, twenty-eight (28) persons were arrested and professionally screened where nineteen (19) of them found implicated, were charged to court.

“In continuation of its fight against cultism, the command has commenced the house-to-house arrests of identified cult members in the state to ensure that cultism is either eliminated or brought to its barest minimum.

“Three suspects who were arrested from various locations have confessed to being members of the Eiye and Aye confraternities respectively. They have been arraigned before the court accordingly.”

Edo State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, in the statement expressed confidence that the public would feel more secure as a result of the command’s efforts.

He further warned known cultists to either renounce cultism, leave the state, or face the full consequences of the law under the Edo State Secret Cult and Other Related Activities Prohibition Law.

Metro

CBEX Fraud: EFCC Declares Two More Wanted

Published

2 days ago

June 5, 2025

Editor

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday declared two more individuals wanted in connection with an alleged fraud case linked to a digital trading platform, Crypto Bridge Exchange, popularly known as CBEX.

The suspects, identified as Folashade Odelana and Bamidele Ayodele Abiodun, were accused of orchestrating fraudulent activities that reportedly led to significant financial losses for unsuspecting investors.

12 persons had been declared wanted by the commission in connection with the same scheme.

In a notice published across its official social media platforms, the anti-graft agency asked members of the public with useful information on the whereabouts of the suspects to come forward.

The notice read, “The public is hereby notified that the persons whose photographs appear below are wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for fraud allegedly perpetrated on an online trading platform called Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX). FOLASHADE ODELANA. Odelana is 31 years old and her last known address is at No. 17, Oremeta Street, Allen, Ikeja, Lagos State.

“BAMIDELE AYODELE ABIODUN. Abiodun is 32 years old. His last known address is at No.17, Oremeta Street, Allen, Ikeja, Lagos State.

“Anybody with useful information as to their whereabouts should please contact the Commission in its Ibadan, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt or Abuja offices, or through these numbers 09-9044751-3, 08093322644, 08183322644, 07026350721-3, 0706350724-5; its e-mail address: info@efccnigeria.org or the nearest Police Station and other security agencies.”

No fewer than 600,000 Nigerians reportedly invested in the scheme and lost N1.3tn after it collapsed in April 2025.