The police in Ekiti State on Wednesday said they had arrested three suspected killers of Mr. Foluso Ogundare, a supporter of House of Representatives’ member and governorship aspirant, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele.

Ogundare and a female supporter of the lawmaker, Mrs. Beatrice Ige, were attacked and shot by suspected political hoodlums during a meeting of Ekiti Bibiire Coalition, Bamidele’s support group, at Ward 03 in Emure Ekiti on Sunday.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State Command, Mr. Victor Babayemi (ASP), at a press briefing on Wednesday, said the three suspects were arrested at different locations in Ekiti State on Tuesday.

The police spokesman however said he could not disclose the names of the arrested suspects for security reasons “as investigation into the matter has already been taken over by the Force Headquarters in Abuja.”

A reliable source however told our correspondent that in fact four suspects had been arrested and he gave the names of the arrested suspects to include a member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Kehinde Boluwade; Olomi Babalola, Yomi Adebayo and Ayo Famojuro (a.k.a Ewenla).

Our correspondent, however, learnt that another suspect was still being investigated to determine the level of his involvement in the matter.

Babayemi said, “The suspects are being moved to Abuja for further questioning. That is the information we are able to release at the moment.

“I can tell you that the suspects were arrested at different points outside Emure late Tuesday night. They took to flight, but what is important is that they have been arrested.”

The Emure Ekiti killing continued to enrage groups and individuals in the state on Wednesday even as Governor Kayode Fayemi reportedly cancelled his visit to the community.

Fayemi’s media aide, Yinka Oyebode, said the governor cancelled his visit to Emure as a mark of respect for the victims of the attack.

“Essentially, the governor called off the tour of Emure Ekiti on Tuesday as a mark of respect to the victim of the crisis. The governor appealed to politicians and the people of the state to refrain from resulting to violence in settling political differences and that they should continue to embrace the path of peace which has been the hallmark of the state,” Oyebode said.

A group, Save Ekiti Coalition, on Wednesday accused the state police command of partisanship, saying the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sotonye Wakama, should be redeployed in the interest of justice.

Convener of SEC, Mr. Lere Olayinka, said, “The number of dead victims (as a result) of political intolerance has risen to six, and we wonder how many people will still be killed before the 2014 election.

“Perhaps, if police and other security agents had been alive to their responsibilities by making sure that all the perpetrators of previous political violence in the state were punished in accordance with the law, those who openly invaded the meeting of Ekiti Bibiire Coalition in Emure-Ekiti on Sunday would not have had the effrontery to do so”.

But the PPRO said, “We are not partisan. It will be recalled that we once arrested the chairman of the ruling party in the state and the secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party when occasion demanded.

“These are lame and unfounded allegations. Like I said, some cases are so sensitive that you cannot just be making indiscriminate arrests without conducting proper investigations.”

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