A tragic incident occurred in Lokoja, Kogi State, as Ayo Aiyepekun, a photojournalist with Inside Story, an online newspaper, was allegedly murdered by his neighbour.
The incident took place on Tuesday evening within the premises of the Inside Story office, which also houses both the victim and the suspect.
According to an eyewitness, who is also a staff member of the newspaper, Ayo was working on video and photo editing when the suspect called him out to assist at his nearby poultry farm, located within the same compound.
“It was around 7:30 p.m. when he called Ayo.
He didn’t realize Ayo wasn’t alone in the office. As soon as Ayo stepped outside, he was attacked with an iron rod and killed on the spot,” the witness recounted.
The eyewitness said he saw the suspect attempting to conceal the body inside a deep freezer before transferring it to a Hilux van.
Sensing something was wrong, he raised an alarm and called others for help.
“By the time we arrived with local vigilantes, the suspect had already driven off with the body,” he said.
They searched the premises and found bloodstains around the poultry stall and inside the freezer.
While they were still investigating, the suspect reportedly returned to the compound in his van. On sighting the crowd, he tried to escape but was chased by the vigilantes. During the pursuit, the van crashed, and the suspect fled on foot.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that the van was stained with blood. While the body has yet to be found, suspicions of ritual motives have been raised.
The matter was officially reported to the Kogi State Police Headquarters in Lokoja on Wednesday.
The suspect is said to be an employee of a correctional centre, and his wife reportedly left him two months ago due to domestic abuse.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the state police command, SP William Aya, said the case came to the police late but has been handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation.
No arrests have been made at the time of this report.