It was pandemonium Monday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital after a masquerade allegedly shot dead an Islamic cleric identified as Lateef Sabiu during Egungun festival.
This simultaneously led to a reprisal attack as youths allegedly razed down a building belonging to traditional worshippers in protest against the murder of one of their members.
Vanguard gathered that the 22-year Islamic Cleric was allegedly shot dead Sunday evening while he was on a motorcycle popularly called Okada during a ‘stop and search’ in Ijaye.
It was gathered that the masquerade popularly called “lehin Aponle” was allegedly armed with guns and other dangerous weapons.
Confirming the incident Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Muyiwa Adejobi, told newsmen in Abeokuta that the Command had arrested three persons along with the masquerade over the murder of the late Cleric.
Adejobi noted that the Command had suspended further activities of the year 2013 edition of masquerade festival in the state.
According to Adejobi, “those we arrested in connection with the murder are one Ajayi Olabintan (40), Shittu Adeyemi, Wahed Babalola and the masquerade.”
Also speaking over the matter, one of the community leaders, the Balogun of Ijaye and Aare of Egbaland, Chief Ganiyu Babayeju-Alemo, said the crisis has forced the Egba Traditional Council to suspend other activities for the 2013 Egungun festival in Abeokuta.
In another development, gunmen on Sunday night brutally killed a 60- year old woman, Amoke Musuru, and her grand-son, 2, Balqis, in Ago-Oba area of Abeokuta.
Vanguard gathered that, the killers broke into the one room apartment of the woman in the family storey building located within Ajiko compound.
The assassins according to the finding, smashed the head of the duo with iron rod without the knowledge of other residents of the building.
When vanguard visited the scene, blood of the deceased littered the room, where the late Baliqs and her grandmother popularly called Iya Saubana were murdered.
Vanguard learnt that the police had taken away the corpses for autopsy, which were said to have handed over to the family for burial.
It was gathered that those arrested and interrogated by the police over the killing had been also released.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said two persons had been interrogated over the dastardly killings.
According to him, “they (the deceased) were murdered by unknown persons. We have visited the scene and two persons have been arrested for interrogation to help us with the investigation.”
However, the children of the late woman, Saburi and Hakeem Moshood, expressed shock over the ugly development.
The children who reside in Ibadan, said they came to Abeokuta to make arrangement for the re-burial of their grandmother whose corpse was exhumed during the demolition exercise by the State government before they met their mother and a child in their pool of blood.
MURIC also called on the Muslim community in the area to exercise patient and desist from taking laws into their hands, adding that security operatives and the state government should be allowed to take charge of the situation.
Source: Vanguard
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