The 58-year-old custodian of a popular night masquerade in Okene, Kogi, Malam Muhammed Jaguda, has been killed by unknown gunmen who allegedly kidnapped him from his residence.
The body of Jaguda, the Ogu Clan night masquerade custodian, was discovered on Tuesday morning, riddled with bullets, a few kilometres from Okene town on the Okene-Ajaokuta road.
A police source in Okene told NAN that the body was brought to the Okene Divisional Police Station where the murder was reported for autopsy and further investigation.
The police source also revealed that the deceased was recently arrested on allegation of gun-running but was released when the police raided his compound in Agada clan in Okene, searched the whole place and found nothing incriminating.
NAN learnt that the night masquerade was billed to perform on March 24 at the Ebe Festival before the untimely demise of its custodian.
Meanwhile, Jaguda's neighbours were said to have deserted their houses for fear of possible arrest by the police for questioning.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the Kogi State Police Command, Mr Ajayi Okasanmi (ASP), confirmed the story, saying that the Okene Division had informed the command of the incident.
He stated that the police had commenced investigation into the matter with a view to bringing the culprits to book.
Meanwhile, with tension mounting in Okene over the murder, Sen. Nurrudeen Usman, representing the Kogi Central Senatorial District, has condemned the spate of gruesome murder of indigenes of the area.
He said that the death of Jaguda had increased the long list of such cases perpetrated by unidentified gunmen in the area in the last six months.
He urged?? security agencies to do all they could to fish out the killers of Jaguda.
NAN reports that more than seven prominent persons, including a director in the state's civil service, an Imam, a Pastor, an Igbo trader and traditional rulers have been assassinated in similar circumstances in recent times. (NAN)