A group of gunmen has allegedly assassinated a hotelier, Kehinde Ibidunni, and his wife, Elizabeth, at Atan-Ota in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The 63- year-old man and his 54-year-old wife were reportedly shot dead by the gunmen after breaking into their residence at Atan-Ota in the early hours of Tuesday.
The couple was gunned down in a quick succession.
Our correspondent gathered that the hoodlums stormed the residence at No. 15, Tella Ojo Crescent, Atan-Ota, around 3am and forced their way into the house through a burglary proof.
The noise from the attempt to gain entry reportedly caught the attention of a little girl who was living with the couple.
She was reported to have immediately rushed to inform the hotelier of the development in his room, but when the man showed up to inquire about the “strange visitors”, he was reportedly shot in the chest and died on the spot.
It was further learnt that the hoodlums later gained entrance into the building, got hold of the wife, beat her and reportedly shot her dead.
While speaking on the incident, the son, Olayinka, said it was a case of assassination.
He said his parents were murdered barely a month after the duo attended his wedding in Abuja.
He narrated, “They (couple) stayed alone in the house. They have a little girl staying with them in the house for support. About 3am on April 27, the girl heard some people trying to gain access into the house through the burglar-proof.
“She immediately stood up, went to my dad’s room and called him that some people were trying to gain entrance. When my dad showed up to ask about the people, they shot him in the chest. So, he died instantly.
“After they killed him, they gained access into the house. They went into the room, met my mum; they beat her, they stabbed her and finally they shot her. They killed the two of them and after that, they scattered the whole house and took the little money they could lay their hands on and left.”
When asked if it was a case of armed robbery or assassination, he said, “From what we know and what the police are saying, it is a case of assassination.”
Olayinka described his parents as “peaceful and loving,” hinted that the family has concluded arrangement to bury the couple on Friday.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the incident.
Oyeyemi said, “They made away with some of their properties, it is still within the range of armed robbery; any other thing can now come, but what is on the ground now is a case of armed robbery.”