Gunmen Kill Two Ekiti First Class Traditional Rulers, One Escapes

Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

Two traditional rulers in Ekiti, the Onimojo of Imojo Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area and the Elesun of Esun Ekiti in Ajoni, Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, have been killed by suspected gun men.

Eyewitnesses told THISDAY that the Alara of Ara in Ikole Local Government escaped when the armed men accosted them and attempted to forcefully take them away.

The incident took place yesterday evening between Oke-Ako and Ipao Ekiti, located in Ajoni Local Government area, it was learnt. The traditional rulers were coming from a meeting when the incident happened.

“They were travelling together. The armed herdsmen stopped them and rained bullets on them. They took their personal belongings and dragged their bodies into the bush,” one eye witness told THISDAY.

 He said the Alara of Ara Ekiti escaped, explaining that they were coming from a meeting where security issues were discussed.

He said the attackers were suspected armed herdsmen men who had been operating in that area for the past five years.

“They fired many bullets at the Alara but he was lucky. He escaped from the scene and ran away,” the source said.

Sources told our correspondent that as at press time, Amotekun operatives had been mobilised to the area.

An official of Oodua Liberation Movement (OLM) in Ekiti State said the armed Fulani men had for long occupied the forest between Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara and Kogi states, saying that the area is like their “Sphere of Influence.”