GUNMEN believed to be cult members shot and killed the manager of a hotel in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, yesterday night.
The deceased, Anthony Balogun, was managing the hotel owned by his mother at the time of the tragic event.
The incident occurred around 8:00 PM within the hotel premises, which is situated in the Olunlade area of Ilorin.
According to information gathered, the assailants, reportedly two in number, entered the hotel and requested to see the manager.
Mistakenly assuming they were potential customers, Balogun left his room to meet them at the reception area.
Witnesses stated that the attackers lured him out of the reception and shot him in the chest at close range. They also reportedly assaulted him with a machete on his head, hands, and legs.
An elder sister to the victim said that she had alerted the police about the incident.
“I called around 6:30 PM, and at about 7 PM, he called me back to share some information. I asked one of the children to answer the call while I was in the kitchen,” said the sister, who wished to remain anonymous.
“When I tried to return his call around 8 PM, his phone was switched off. I tried calling three more times, but there was no response.
“A little later, his wife called to tell me to come to the Kwara State General Hospital, now known as Kwara State University Teaching Hospital, Ilorin. It was there that I found his lifeless body, which was severely mutilated.”
A source from the Ganmo Divisional Police Station, where the case was reported, described it as a probable homicide.
Meanwhile, the public relations officer for the state police command, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, has yet to confirm the incident, as attempts to reach her have been unsuccessful.