By Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti

|

P alpable tension engulfed some parts of Ado-Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State on Thursday, over the gruesome murder of a middle-aged man by yet to be identified assailants.

The deceased whose identity was yet unknown was said to be driving a Toyota Corolla car, when he was reportedly shot dead by two masked gunmen at Irona area of Ado-Ekiti.

Eyewitnesses account hinted that the gunmen in  black clothes, rode on a motorbike and suddenly emerged from the road leading to the Federal Polytechnic

The Hope Metro gathered that the assailants waved down the victim who was on motion and shot  him severally in the chest at close range.

The gunmen were reported to have dragged the lifeless body of the victim out of the car and left him on the main road, afterwhich they fled.

The incident later resulted into pandemonium as commuters, roadside traders and passersby scampered for safety as the gunmen shot sporadically.

An eyewitness also explained that the gunmen, after killing the man, opened the car and carried a black bag believed to be filled with money before moving away from the scene.

Speaking on the issue, a roadside trader in the area who craved anonymity, said the victim was chased to the area and was trying to negotiate the roundabout when he was held down by the heavy traffic in the area and was blocked by the suspected assailants.

Also speaking, a middle-aged man who simply identified himself as Paul, narrated that the victim was trying to escape from the area, but the heavy traffic in the area held him down before he was shot by the suspected assailants who rode on a motorcycle.

“The man already knew he was being pursued as he tried to manoeuvre the roundabout in haste. But he was held down by traffic congestion,”he said.

He added that the killing of the man came, barely  three days after a similar incident occurred in the area.

As of the time of filng this report, the remains of the victim had been evacuated to the morgue of the State Specialists Hospital in Ado-Ekiti, by operatives of the Anti-Crime Unit attached to the Ekiti State Police Command.

When contacted on phone, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Sunday Abutu, a Superintendent of Police DSP, confirmed the receipt of the matter.

He said he was yet to be properly briefed on the matter.

Abutu explained that police from the Anti-Crime section of the Command have been drafted to the area to prevent further breakdown of law and order.