A 70 year old man was on Sunday killed at Oke-Sopen, Ijebu-Igbo, Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, South-West Nigeria.

This incident occurred when 10 armed men suspected to be assassins, on Sunday morning invaded the premises of St. John’s Anglican Church located at Oke-Sopen area of the community.

It was learnt that the assailants stormed the premises of the church in two vehicles at about 11.00a.m, while the Sunday service was still on and they went directly to the pew where the deceased was sitting and shot him in the head.

An eyewitness account had it that Okuneye’s assailants only took his life and fled the scene without taking anything away from him.

He said, “The service was on when we noticed that some boys numbering about ten armed to teeth entered the church and headed straight to where Chief Okuneye was sitting and shot him in the head. It was the time our preacher was about to mount the pulpit. It was about 11.00a.m.

“We were shocked and everybody was jittery as the service abruptly came to an end. Some people, especially, the elderly people were still in shock as I am talking to you now. The deceased was not a politician, if he was one, we would have been thinking that his political opponents carried out the act, but as it is now, the church has been deserted, except some few people who were with the Pastor.”

Another source informed that the deceased may have been killed due to many legal matters he has before the court.

“Otunba was not a politician, so his death could not be linked to any political assassination. I know that he has a lot of matter in various courts and from my little observation, we cannot rule out this area in his killing, but God knows best”, he said.

Okuneye was a well-known man in the town and neighbouring towns. He was among the earliest furniture makers in Ijebu area. He is survived by 6 wives and over 20 children. His remains had been deposited at the mortuary of the General Hospital in Ijebu-Igbo.