From OSEMWENGIE BEN OGBEMUDIA, Benin City
A Muslim cleric was, at the week end, hacked down by some gunmen on his way to the Mosque in Edo State. The incident has generated fresh concerns over renewed security threats in the outskirt of the state capital, Benin City.
The gunmen had trailed the Muslim cleric who was identified as the Chief Imam of Egbeta Mosque in Ovia North East Local Government Area, Edo State, Mallam Saka Afolabi, to a convenient location before they shot him dead.
Afolabi was on his way to the Mosque in the early hours of Saturday when he was shot dead in the presence of his two sons.
One of his sons who witnessed the killing, Mutiu Afolabi, said three boys accosted them on their way to the Mosque, pointed torchlight on their faces before shooting his father dead.
“We were going to the Mosque when three boys came on a motorcycle. One said, this is the man. They pointed torchlight at our faces and shot my father,” he narrated.
Confirming the incident, Edo Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Moses Nkombe, said those fingered in the murder would be invited for questioning. DSP Nkombe noted that the claim of alibi was not sufficient for exoneration. He said men of the homicide department have been tasked to fish out the killers.