Updated: Gunmen Kill Muslim Cleric, Wife, 4 Children, 2 Others in Ogun

Segun Atanda/

Bandits in Ogun State today wiped out a Muslim cleric and his family in Odogbolu.

Thirty-Five-Year-Old Sheikh Yusuf Amzat-Salam, also known as Alfa Abu, was killed along with his wife, four children and two other relations, in the early hours of today, by suspected assassins at Atiba area of Odogbolu Local Government Area, in Ijebu-Ode.

Police spokesman in Ogun State, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident to Newsmakersng in a telephone chat, early today.

Among the victims were the cleric’s eldest child, a girl aged 11,  her twin brothers, aged 8 and the last female child, aged 2.

They were allegedly butchered with machetes.

All the victims had been buried in accordance with Muslim rites,  amid wailing by sympathisers and relations.

Oyeyemi said the police authorities had mobilized men and resources to the scene, hoping to unmask those behind the attack.

“The commissioner of police has directed that nothing must be spared in unraveling the mystery behind the incident. Men of the special anti-robbery squad, the homicide department and a detachment of mobile policemen have been mobilized to the town to work on the case and also maintain law and order,” he said.

Reports say the victims were found in the pool of their blood when a school bus came to pick the children.

A close family friend, Mr Yusuf Oludaisi, described the act as dastardly and wicked, wondering what the victim must have done to warrant such treatment.

He said, “He was someone whom we grew up together. I have known him for 30 years to be humble and kind to everyone who came across his path.

“It’s really sad because this was someone you will never see quarreling or being disrespectful.”

The late cleric’s younger brother, Alfa Ishaaq Amzat-Salam, however, said he would leave the matter for God to judge.

He said, “I leave those who perpetrated such evil into God’s hands for He alone will judge them. The deed cannot be undone.

“I will always remember my brother forever, for his loving kindness as he was a shining light to us all.”

Senator Gbenga Kaka (Ogun East), who was at the burial of the victims, described the incident as very sad.

“I am a close friend to the father of the victim and when I heard what happened, I was in shock,” Kaka said. “It is unimaginable what these people did and it brings much sadness to my heart. I don’t even have the words to describe it.”

 

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