IN what appears to be a throwback to a recent era of political assassinations in Nigeria, an aide to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Mr. Olaitan Oyerinde, was killed at about 2am in the morning on Friday, in the state capital of Benin City by gunmen who are yet to be identified.
The gunmen had invaded the late Mr. Oyerinde’s fenced Government Reservation Area residence in the city before forcing their way into his home, after which they gunned him down in the presence of his wife and children.
Speaking to sharpedgenews.com earlier on Friday, Edo State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Louis Odion, said that he was also targeted for assassination as the same group of gunmen later stormed his home looking for him. Odio was however fortunate to be away from home when the killers came calling.
According to Commissioner Odion, direct threats on his life had been made by a party chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Chief Tony Anenih, who physically confronted him at an event about 2 weeks prior. Mr. Odion considered the latest development as a confirmation of Chief Anenih’s threats.
Mr. Oyerinde’s death is the latest loss to Governor Oshiomhole in the last week, as three journalists attached to his convoy lost their lives and accompanying security detail received injuries to various degrees, in an event where Oshiomhole himself barely escaped death by whiskers. A Mercedes 911 truck had swerved dangerously into the governor’s convoy as he traveled along the Warrake–Auchi road, an incidence that Mr. Oshiomhole believes was a deliberate act targeting him for elimination.
The late Olaitan Oyerinde was a graduate of the University of Lagos who managed and coordinated Governor Oshiomhole’s ongoing campaign for governor in Edo. He was reputed to be an excellent community and political organizer.