Some suspected hired assassins have killed Michael Ogunnusi, the owner of the Allonze Hotel on Ishawo Road, Agric, Ikorodu, Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspects, who entered the hotel on a motorcycle, pretended that they were lodgers. The security guard who opened the gate was said to have been tied up by the armed men.
They were said to have made straight for the victim’s room in the hotel and shot him dead. Our correspondent reliably gathered that the deceased was killed for allegedly dating the wife of the gunmen’s leader. It was learnt that the suspects took Ogunnusi’s phone before fleeing the hotel.
According to a source, "the men were four in number and brought a car which was parked outside.
He also said, “While one was in the car, three went in on a motorcycle, pretending to be customers; they got separate rooms to stay. However, no sooner than they got their keys that they went to the man’s room. One knocked at his door as if he was one of the hotel workers. As he opened the door, they opened gunfire on him.”
However, a police source, who said the incident happened around 11pm on Wednesday, explained that the suspects first tied up the gateman.
He said, “There were four of them and they spoke Ijaw language. They entered into the hotel on a motorcycle. They deceived the gateman by telling him they wanted to book a room. But immediately he opened the gate, they beat and tied him up.
“It is possible they were operating based on information from an insider because immediately they entered, they went into the man’s room in the hotel. He begged them not to kill him. He said he was ready to offer them anything, but they shot him dead. They left with his phone.”
A source said the victim was killed for dating a woman that was not his wife “He was dating a woman that was the wife of the suspects’ leader. On the night that he was killed, he was with the woman and she had already been arrested by the police.
It was learnt that policemen from the Owutu Police Division removed the corpse and took it to a mortuary. The victim’s wife, Mrs. Bolanle Ogunnusi, did not deny the allegation that the victim was caught with a woman.
She said, “I am his wife and we have five children together. The hotel is closed. I don’t know (if he was killed over a woman). The police have not released his corpse.”
The Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Damasus Ozoani, confirmed the incident, adding that four suspects had been arrested.
“The case has been transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investgation, Panti,” he added. Culled from Punch...
