10 Gunmen Shot Dead A 70-Year-Old Man In Ogun Church

It was a bloody Sunday at St. John Anglican Church, Oke Sopein, Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State as unknown gunmen invaded and shot dead a septuagenarian, Otunba Tola Okuneye, a.k.a. Ajagajigi.

A group of gunmen arrived in two vehicles painted in Lagos commercial yellow colour around 11 am, when the Pastor started his sermon. The assassins pretended to be worshippers.

They entered the church in search for their victim. When they saw Okuneye, they approached him shot the man in the head and chest. He died on the spot.

There was confusion within and outside the church. Gunshots rang out repeatedly.

“Many were injured in the ensuing stampede,” a witness said.

“We were shocked and everybody was jittery as the service ended abruptly. Some people, especially, the elderly people, are still in shock as I am talking to you now.

“No one can say anything about his death. He is not a politician. If he were one, we would have thought that his political opponents carried out the act. The church has been deserted, except some few people who were with the Pastor,” another witness added.

The body of the deceased has been deposited at Ijebu-Igbo General Hospital’s mortuary.

The Police Command of Ogun State confirmed the murder, said an investigation had commenced to unravel the reason behind the assassination.

Governor Amosun paid a condolence visit to the family of the deceased and visited the scene of the incident.

A son of the deceased, Gbenga Okuneye and Presiding Bishop, St John’s Anglican Church, Oke Sopein, Ijebu Igbo, Rt. Rev. Gbetogo Kuponu, thanked the governor for the visit and concern.

The deceased was the Chairman of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) and Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee. He was well known in the town and neighbouring towns and was among the earliest artisans in the business of furniture making in Ijebu.

He is survived by six wives and over 20 children.