By Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti

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Tears rolled freely as 22-year-old driver of Ekiti State Commissioner for Local Government, Mr Olabode Ibrahim, who was shot dead by yet-to-be-identified gunmen along the Isan/Iludun road in the Ilejemeje Local Government Area of the state, was laid to rest.

The late driver, identified as Idowu Oguntuase, was said to be travelling with four other officials of the ministry along the Isan/Iludun road, when his car was waylaid by the gunmen who shot him dead.

The suspected gunmen were said to have laid an ambush at a damaged portion of the road, during which the four other occupants of the vehicle were whisked away into the bush while the young driver was killed on the spot.

A source from Iludun-Ekiti said the driver was buried amidst sorrow and wailing in his family compound in the town over the weekend. The police in the state, accompanied by other security operatives, later rescued the kidnapped victims, who were mainly officials of the Ministry of Local Government Affairs in Ekiti State.

Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti State Police Command, Mr Sunday Abutu, said the kidnapped victims had been rescued by the police and had since reunited with their families.

The command’s spokesperson said efforts are underway by a combined police team, who have been deployed to the area, to ensure the possible arrest of the perpetrators.

Speaking on the development, the lawmaker representing Ilejemeje State Constituency in the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Princess Iyabo Fakunle-Okieimen, during a plenary session on Friday, lamented the incessant kidnapping incidents in the area.

The lawmaker drew the attention of the House to the repeated killings and abductions of innocent indigenes of the area by suspected kidnappers, particularly highlighting the recent case in which a life was lost, and five people were abducted.

Reacting to the incident, the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye, and other lawmakers expressed their sympathy over the death of the young and promising driver, Idowu Oguntuase. They commiserated with the lawmaker representing Ilejemeje, the family, and the community over the killing and abduction of five people in the area.

The House later urged security operatives in the state to intensify efforts to safeguard the lives and property of the citizens.