Gunmen shot and killed a councillor candidate in Ogun’s Abeokuta South Local Government district near the popular Oke Ilewo district of the state capital.

Adeleke Adeyinka from Ward 15 was a candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming local government elections on November 16, 2024.

According to eyewitnesses, the offenders arrived in a tinted glass automobile, shot him, and then beat him with a stone before driving away from the scene.

According to state police, efforts to arrest the accused are ongoing.

The incident was reported around 12:30 pm when a concerned citizen reported that unknown individuals believed to be cultists arrived in an unregistered Toyota Corolla Sports car with a pump action shotgun and pistol at Jide Jones, Oke Ilewo in Ibara,” the spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command Omolola Odutola said.

“The assailants opened fire, killing 40-year-old Adeyinka Adeleke before they filed to an unknown location. Photos of the scene have been taken and normalcy has been restored while effort is ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects.”

Meanwhile, the state APC Youth Leaders’ Forum denounced the horrible act, calling it “senseless”.

In a statement written and signed by youth leader Kabir Odedairo and the group’s spokesman Timothy Odedina, they urged an immediate investigation to uncover the cause and those behind the terrible homicide.

“The Ogun State All Progressives Congress Youth Leaders’ Forum is deeply saddened and outraged by the brutal murder of Adeleke Adeyinka, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Ward 15, Abeokuta South, who was killed today in the Jide Jones area of Abeokuta City,” according to the group.

We firmly condemn this stupid and cruel act, which has left our community shaken and bereaved. Adeleke was shot and stoned to death by unknown assailants in a tinted automobile, which is very alarming and requires prompt attention from law enforcement officials.

While identifying the deceased as a “promising young leader,” it urged a “thorough investigation” into his murder.

“As a Forum, we demand a thorough investigation into this heinous crime and call on the relevant authorities to ensure that justice is served, We also urge the police to increase patrols and security measures in the affected areas to prevent further violence,” the APC Youth Leaders’ Forum announced.

Adeleke’s services to the Ogun State Youth Leaders’ Forum will be remembered, and his premature death is a loss for Ogun State’s whole youth community.

They also expressed our heartfelt sympathies to Adeleke’s family, friends, and colleagues.