Bandits raze spare parts shop days after killing owner’s father

By Akintunde Jacobs, Akure

An auto spare part shop located along Secretariat Road, Giwa Local Government in Kaduna State has been reportedly razed by suspected bandits.

The shop, belonging to one Mr. Akinluyi Opeyemi, was said to have been burnt down by the assailants on Thursday, November 18, 2021.

Sources revealed that the incident happened a few days after Opeyemi’s father was kidnapped and killed by bandits.

The victim’s father, the late Akinluyi Oladipupo was revealed to have been kidnapped by some bandits who invaded his home and later demanded N15 million ransom.

A family source disclosed that a sum of N8 million was contributed by the family and handed over to the bandits at a location they specified, but it was later discovered that the bandits had killed the man.

Meanwhile, according to one of the family members, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, Opeyemi had been attacked by an unknown group of armed men in the same shop a few days before his shop was razed.

He explained that the bandits returned to the shop on Thursday and when they couldn’t find Opeyemi, they decided to set the shop ablaze.

The source expressed fear that if the perpetrators had met him, they would have killed him right there.

He wondered why the family became the target of the dangerous group currently terrorising different communities in the country.

Nevertheless, the whereabouts of the shop owner is not yet known as he had gone into hiding.

Police source said the men from the state command are working with their counterparts in neighbouring states to get the group arrested and bring them to book.