The venue of a wedding party in Lagos, Victory Event Centre,
Agege, was on Sunday turned into a house of wailing after a guest was shot
dead.
PUNCH Metro gathered from witnesses and residents that the
victim, who had yet to be identified, was eating when he was hit by a stray
bullet.
Our correspondent was told that an aide of the Chairman of
the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Lagos State, Mr. Tajudeen Agbede,
fired the shot that produced the stray bullet.
It was gathered that Agbede and some top officials of the
NURTW had attended the wedding ceremony.
As Agbede was leaving the event around 6pm, some hoodlums
were said to have waylaid him for money.
Our correspondent was told that when the scene became rowdy,
one of his aides shot into the air three times.
The last bullet reportedly hit the victim where he was
eating and he fell.
The incident happened on Olurinde Street, Orile Agege.
A witness, who did not want to be identified, said within
five minutes, the wedding abruptly ended as everyone fled the scene.
He said, “The bride is the younger sister of the personal
assistant of Agbede and that informed the presence of top NURTW officials.
“Everything went on well until Agbede was about leaving
around 6pm. There was a scuffle at the venue as some hoodlums asked for money
from him. The man was still in their midst when they started fighting one
another.
“One of Agbede’s aides fired twice to make way for his
principal. As he was about putting the gun in his pocket, he released another
shot, which hit the man.
“The man that fired the gun is huge and dark in complexion.
He joined Agbede’s convoy and fled.”
A female resident, who lamented the incident, said the
victim’s corpse was abandoned as everyone took to their heels.
She explained that no one could identify the deceased as he
lay in a pool of blood.
“He was eating outside the hall when he was hit. The bullet
hit him near the left eye and came out from the other side of his skull.He died
immediately.
“There was confusion on this street yesterday (Sunday).
After some minutes, people started coming to see if they knew him. Nobody could
identify him. He was a fine-looking gentleman,” she said.
Our correspondent learnt that some hours later, policemen
from the Elere division removed the corpse and deposited it in a mortuary.
Another guest at the party told PUNCH Metro that the suspect
was well known to the NURTW hierarchy.
When contacted, Agbede confirmed being at the venue of the
wedding, but said he was not aware that anybody was killed.
He said, “I was at the wedding, but I later left without any
incident. We had left the party when the incident happened.”
The Zone 2 Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo
Badmos, said the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Aderanti, had
ordered investigation into the incident.
Badmos said report from the Elere division indicated that
the victim was killed by some gunmen.
She said, “I confirm the murder case. At about 7.10pm, we
got a report that around 6.10pm, a man of about 21 years old, whose name and
address had yet to be ascertained, was shot dead while eating outside Victory Event Centre, where a wedding
was taking place.
“We were informed that he was killed by two hoodlums, who
immediately escaped. The AIG has directed the command to investigate the murder
case and arrest the culprits.”
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