It was a new year day tragedy in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital when suspected assassins wiped out the family of a member of staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kehinde Fatinoye after the cross over church service in the early hours of Sunday.
The attackers, who pounced on the family members shortly after they arrived at their Government Reserved Area (GRA) private residence in Ibara, killed Mr Fatinoye, his wife, Bukola, a senior member of staff at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), and set their property on fire to burn the couple beyond recognition. The couple’s son and their housemaid were also taken away and thrown into a river along Adigbe-Obada axis in Abeokuta by the killers.
While the housemaid survived the incident, it was not so for the son.
Some fellow worshippers from the church where the couple worshipped at Okejigbo area of the city before their gruesome murder quickly rushed to the scene on hearing the news.
The sympathisers said they suspected that the killers might have trailed the couple to their residence after the service.
A cousin of the late CBN official, Ambrose Somide, told Thisday that he could not explain what might be behind the dastard development.
Meanwhile, the Acting Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Agriculture, Prof.Olusola Babatunde Kehinde, has paid a condolence visit to the Ibara GRA, Abeokuta private residence of the Fatinoyes.
Kehinde described the death of Mrs. Fatinoye and her husband as gruesome and a rude shock to the University community.
The acting vice chancellor described Mrs.Fatinoye as a committed staff, easy going, and friendly. He called on security agencies to quickly bring those responsible to justice.
The spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi described the incident as a pure case of assassination.
He said: “When the couple were killed, their remains were equally set ablaze.”
“After the dastardly act, the couple’s son and their housemaid were kidnapped and threw them into a river. Though, the housemaid has been rescued alive, but we are yet to see the son.”
Thisday
