A well-known businessman named Ade Bendel was abducted by gunmen on Wednesday night when they broke into the town of Ilara in the Imeko-Afon Local Government Area of Ogun State, killing two persons.
In separate interviews with several local residents on Thursday, The Intercept found that the gunmen broke into the neighbourhood at about 11 p.m. and began firing intermittently.
Oba Mutiu Adedimeji, the town’s monarch, revealed to our correspondent on Thursday that the attack claimed two lives.
He described how the gunmen fled into the Republic of Benin after kidnapping the businessman and left the victim’s car on the road.
Oba Adedimeji said, “Yes, the incident happened. They abducted Ade Bendel yesterday (Wednesday) night and killed two people in the attack.
“Some people were able to locate his vehicle at Sabe in Benin Republic, which means that was the route they took to escape.”
According to a local youth leader who asked to remain anonymous because of the seriousness of the situation, the shooters followed the businessman to his hotel before starting to shoot intermittently.
According to the youth leader, a stray bullet from the shooting is said to have struck and killed two people, including a hotel employee.
He said, “Some gunmen kidnapped Ade Bendel yesterday night at about 11 p.m. They trailed him to his hotel.
“They began shooting sporadically in the hotel and two people were reportedly killed because they were hit by stray bullets.
“A female employee at the man’s hotel was among the persons killed in the incident.”
Another resident, who identified simply as Ade, told our correspondent that some persons sustained injuries while trying to flee due to the sound of gunshots.
He narrated that the community had been in a panic since the incident occurred.
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Ade said, “The incident happened. We were hearing gunshots which caused people to panic. Two ladies sustained injuries after they fell into a ditch while trying to escape.”
Omolola Odutola, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, stated she was gathering information on the incidences when asked for her response.
As of the time this story was filed, she had not provided our reporter with an update.
A local police official verified the event to our correspondent in the meanwhile, although he would not comment on the number of casualties.
“The incident happened but I cannot say the number of casualties involved or give details of the incident,” the police officer said.
