By Gboyega Ikusagba
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji has condemned yesterday’s dastardly attack in the Oke-Ako area in Ikole Local Government, which led to the gruesome killing of two traditional rulers; and ordered security agencies in the state to fish out the killers.
The two traditional rulers- the Onimojo of Imojo Ekiti, Oba Olatunde Samuel Olusola, and the Elesun of Esun Ekiti, Oba David Babatunde Ogunsola were killed in an ambush by armed men while returning from a meeting.
The third traditional ruler, the Alara of Ara–Ekiti, Oba Adebayo Fatoba escaped the attack.
ThisNigeria learnt that the trio were said to have been coming from Ogbe, a town in the neighbouring Kogi State when the incident happened at about 4pm yesterday.
While their mission to Ogbe had yet to be unravelled, speculations are that the traditional rulers may have been trailed by their assailants for a while before they found a haven to strike and conceal their crime at the spot where they accosted and rained bullets on them.
A source from the neighbouring Irele-Ekiti told our correspondent that Amotekun operatives have been mobilised into the area.
The Alara of Ara was said to have escaped from the gunmen with the driver that drove them.
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As of press time, the whereabouts of the escaped Oba had yet to be ascertained.
The assailants, it was learnt, are suspected herdsmen who have been terrorising the zone over a period.
Meanwhile Governor Oyebanji, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode, said security agents have been dispatched to the area to fish out the perpetrators of the heinous crime.
The Governor, who had just presided over the state Security Council meeting in Ado-Ekiti, barely an hour before the incident occurred, said no stone would be left unturned in the bid to bring the perpetrators to justice.
He expressed the condolences of the Government and people of Ekiti State to the people of Imojo Ekiti and Esun Ekiti over the sad incident.
The Governor also urged the people of the two towns to remain calm and refrain from taking the laws into their own hands. Government, he said, would ensure that justice is served.
Oyebanji charged security agencies in the state to remain vigilant and resolute in the efforts to stamp out crime and criminality from the state.
Restating the commitment of his government to the security of lives and properties of citizens in the state, the Governor said his administration would continue to deploy technology for crime detection and prevention, as well as provide necessary support for security agencies in the state.
