Tragedy: Gunmen Kill Admission Seeker, Raze Osun Palace

On Sunday, tragedy struck the Okanla community in the Irepodun Local Government Area of Osun State when armed men raided the palace of Olokanla of Okanla, assassinated an applicant for admission named Ibrahim Qudus, and then set the castle on fire.

Jimoh Qadri, an uncle of the victim, told newsmen that the attackers were headed by a man only known as Naim, who was the only one of the group to not cover his face throughout the attack.

Qadri, who was unable to provide an explanation for the attack, claimed that the attackers first attacked his home and encountered his absence before moving on to the residence of his late father, Oba Jimoh Adigun, the Olokanla of Okanla, which he utilised as a palace before passing away.

He said, “I was not at home, but my wife called me that gunmen numbering about 20 had stormed my house in Okanla area very early on Sunday. She told me they all covered their faces, but one of them bearing Naim did not cover his face and my wife saw him. The attackers were after me and they searched around the house.

“When they could not find me around, they vandalised the building and proceeded to my family house, where my late father, Olokanla of Okanla used as his palace. It was there they saw Qudus, a son to my elder brother, who was living in Ibadan, until he recently returned home to seek university admission, after writing UTME.

“He was killed and they put his corpse in my car parked within the premises and set the vehicle ablaze. They also set the palace ablaze. The reason behind the attack is not known to me. But it may not be unconnected to the tussle over land in our area. The family is pleading with the security agencies to ensure the perpetrators of this crime are apprehended.”

When contacted, Yemisi Opalola, a spokesman for the Osun Police Command, said that Kehinde Longe, the commissioner of police, had visited the crime scene and added that additional officers had been sent to the area.

“Someone was burnt with a car around Okanla, the area is between Ifon and Ilobu. We have deployed our men to the area to forestall further breakdown of law and order. The Commissioner of Police has visited the scene,” Opalola stated.