Ekundayo, has shot himself dead while attempting
to scare away thieves from the Ebute-Meta area of
Lagos State.
According to PUNCH Metro ,the deceased was
among a three-man team guarding Osholanke
Street, Ebute Meta.There were, however, two of
them on duty on the fateful day.
It was gathered that around 4am, when they were
expected to round off work, Ekundayo reportedly
shot into the air to scare away lurking thieves as
was the guards' custom.
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As he fired a shot, the bullet hit an object which
ricocheted it towards him.The bullet was said to
have struck him in the head.
His duty colleague, Fatai Raimi, reportedly ran to the
spot upon hearing the shot, and discovered the
victim dead.
The police arrested Raimi, who insisted that he was
innocent.He said,
"I have known the deceased for some time
now. He was my boss; he recruited me into
the vigilance group, but we were employed by
the community.
"There were three of us guarding Osholanke
Street, but the third person did not come that
day because he was ill.My master (Ekundayo)
and I were together, but when it was getting to
4am, he went down the street alone."I
suddenly heard a shot from his gun and I
rushed there only to see he had mistakenly
shot himself dead."
A source told PUNCH Metro that the victim was not
properly trained on how to use a gun.
The source said the police were investigating how
he came by the gun he was using for his job.
He said,
"The man was not trained to use a gun. He did
not handle it well and when he opened fire,
apparently to tell the residents they were done
for the day and to scare any thief, the bullet hit
him instead.
"But one thing that is also not clear is how the
man and his team had access to a gun. We
are investigating all these."
Our correspondent learnt that the police could not
conduct an autopsy on the victim due to the
pressure from his relatives who wanted him buried.
His corpse was said to have been released to the
family for burial, while the suspect was transferred
to the State Department of Criminal Investigation.
