The late Ogunro, the Managing Director of a Lagos communications firm, Eminent Communications, was reportedly killed on Sunday night in Lagos in front of his church. Ogunro died at the Lagoon Hospital, Apapa, from the gunshot injuries he sustained in the attack in front of International Church of Christ, Jobi-Fele Way, Central Business District, Alausa, Ikeja. In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, the governor said Ogunro’s killing had broken the hearts of Ekiti State residents, who he served diligently until his death.
He described the late Ogunro as a thoroughbred Ekiti son and a professional who identified with his people. The governor urged security agencies to apprehend the killers and bring them to justice soonest. Dr Fayemi, who visited the family of the late Ogunro in Lagos yesterday, said those who killed the frontline advertising practitioner should not be allowed to get away with the crime.
The governor promised that his administration would assist security agencies to bring his killers to book. He said: “We are appalled and shocked by this gruesome ‘murder’ of an Ekiti shining light, who was a role model to the young generation. “He (Ogunro) believed in hard work and rose to the pinnacle of advertising and marketing communications.
“His sterling qualities inspired our administration to appoint him as the chairman of the state broadcasting service and he turned around the fortunes of the corporation within the short time he held office. “This is a monumental loss to the government and people of Ekiti State.
We urge security agencies to do everything humanly possible to bring the perpetrators of this dastardly act to justice.” The late Ogunro attended a Christmas carol at the church with his wife, children and grand children. It was learnt that the late Ogunro was attacked after he caught a thief in the church at 10pm. One of the late Ogunro’s sons, Timayo, recounted how his father was killed.
He said: “It was a night of Christmas carol at the church. After the main carol service, people went down to eat. There was a man who tried to steal some money from someone and my father caught him. Other deacons and the minister of God started talking to the guy about what happened.
That took some time. “So, as this continued, people started to leave the church premises. Eventually, it was just myself, my mum and my dad, some children and a few disciples of the church who remained behind. “My dad said I should take my mum and the children home, since it was getting late.
We went outside and my mum remembered that she left some water in my dad’s car. So, my dad went to get the water from across the road. As I was about to open the door for everyone to get in, the gunmen came in a blue Sienna. I saw what happened but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“There were five of them. They spread out. Three of them came to me and hit me. I went down and gave them everything in my hand, including the car keys. I went down with my mum and the kids while two of the attackers walked up to my dad. He wanted to take the keys to his car but my dad told them: ‘Just take it; just take it.’ You know these guys: obviously, they were high and they just shot him.”
A church member, Mr Sola Martins, said someone called him after leaving the church that he should call the police because there was shooting at the church premises. Martins said he received another call, as he was attempting to rush to the church premises, that Ogunro had been shot and that he should call the police.
According to the church member, he reported the matter to the police and later joined the family at the Apapa hospital, where Ogunro died. Lagos State Police Command’s spokesperson Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP) said: “About 22:42 hours (10 pm) on December 22, a distress call was received by the Alausa Division of the police command. It was gathered that four armed men operating in a Honda Odyssey attempted to snatch a Mercedes Benz ML jeep belonging to Mr Ogunro. “The man resisted and threw away the key of the jeep, hence the armed men shot him.
They abandoned the Honda Odyssey and escaped with a red Toyota Yaris car belonging to the wife, who was standing with him on the scene. “The scene was visited immediately by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and a team and the incident was confirmed. The DPO also visited the victim at the Lagoon Hospital where he was receiving treatment, though critical.” She said none of the relatives had made a statement on the incident.
The police pokesperson explained that the Honda Odyssey was confirmed to have been snatched from somebody identified as Ali Balogun at Ebute-Metta at 8pm.
The owner was reportedly dropped on Jobi-Fele Way in Alausa, Ikeja, from where she was taken to the station. Braide said the police had begun investigation into the incident and the search for the fleeing hoodlums. Nation
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