One killed as gunmen attack travellers in Ekiti

The Ekiti police command says gunmen on Friday night attacked some travellers between Ewu-Ekiti and Aiyetoro-Ekiti — neighbouring communities in Ilejemeje and Ido/Osi LGA of the state.

Sunday Abutu, Police spokesman in the state, who confirmed the incident to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ado-Ekiti, said the gunmen shot the driver of the vehicle, a LEXUS 330 SUV, dead.

Abutu said the gunmen took the two other occupants of the vehicle away.

He said police in conjunction with local hunters and operatives of Amotekun Corps, were already combing the forest around the area to rescue the victims and arrest the gunmen.

Eyewitnesses, however, told NAN that there were five occupants in the vehicle and they were attacked by suspected herdsmen while returning from a social function in the area.

The eyewitnesses also confirmed that the driver was shot dead and the other occupants of the vehicle were abducted.

The vehicle, with registration number LAGOS KRD 264 GV, was left at the scene facing the bush without only the dead inside it.

The identities of the victims had not been ascertained at the time of filing this report.

NAN reports that Friday’s incident occurred four days after gunmen also suspected to be herdsmen shot and killed a man named Ademola Afolayan on a poultry farm in Ikere-Ekiti on Monday, Aug. 2 at about 5 p.m.

NAN sources said the gunmen, numbering about five, invaded the poultry farm located at Eselemo Farm, Igbo-Oka area close to Akure Road, shooting sporadically and in the process, killed Afolayan.

Two persons were said to have narrowly escaped the Monday incident.

Also, Clement Adekola, former Ekiti state chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, escaped death by the whiskers when his vehicle was attacked on August 3.

The gunmen allegedly opened fire on Adekola’s vehicle as he was traveling along Ikere-Igbara Odo Road, in Ikere LGA.

Recently, kidnappers allegedly abducted some travellers in three commercial buses on Akure/Ikere-Ado Ekiti road in Ekiti state.

It was gathered that the kidnapping gunmen swooped on the travellers’ vehicles while navigating through the bad portions of the road.

NAN gathered that one of the drivers narrowly escaped the incident that took place between Iju community in Ondo State and Ikere-Ekiti in Ekiti State.

An eyewitness said that the vehicles were left in the middle of the road, a situation which attracted members of the public who raised the alarm.