Hell was let loose yesterday morning at Ijebu-Igbo, Ijebu North local government area of Ogun state, when assailants stormed a church and shot a 70-year-old man identified as Otunba Tola Okunneye.
Blueprint gathered that the assailants arrived at St. John Anglican Church, Oke-Sopen, in two vehicles and entered the church and fired the shot at the man’s head.
An eyewitness said the congregation was already listening to the Pastor’s sermon when the gunmen arrived and headed straight for the old man.
“We were in the church and it was exactly when the Pastor started his sermon that those boys numbering about 10 came in into the church and went straight to where Ajagajigi sat and shot him on the head.
“We were shocked and everybody was jittery as the service abruptly came to the end. Some people, especially the elderly people are still in shock as I am talking to you now. No one can say anything about his murder; he was not a politician, if he was one, we would have been thinking that his political opponents carried out the act.”
The deceased residence at Kazeem Street, Shokas area, Oke-Sopen in Ijebu Igbo has now turned to a Mecca of sorts as people troop to the area to either catch a glimpse of the situation or to commiserate with the family.
He is survived by six wives and over 20 children.
Confirming the incident, Ogun state Police Command said investigation had begun, adding that autopsy would be carried out.
The State Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said it would be too early to link the incident with politics.
He said: “It is the normal think when an incident like that happened to do an autopsy, which is the normal thing.
“It will be too early and hasty to link it with politics. It is unfortunate in this part of the world that once something like that happened, people quickly link it with one political issue or the other, we have to wait until police conclude their investigation, until then, we may not know the reason behind the killing.”
