BY AKINWALE ABOLUWADE, IBADAN
There was confusion at the Basin Road area of Ilorin, Kwara State, as some yet-to-be identified assailants gunned down Bayo Babarinde, a member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Living Word Parish, in front of the church on Sunday.
Those who witnessed the incident said that the tragedy happened during the 7am service of the parish.
According to them, Babarinde, an estate agent was shot by his assailants as he stepped out of the church to receive a telephone call.
The Public Relations Officer, Kwara State Police Command, Okasanmi Ajayi, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Monday night.
Ajayi was quoted in the statement as saying that “He (Babarinde) was called on phone during the service as he walked out of the church to receive the call. The sound of gun shots rent the air, which drew the attention of the congregation.
“As at the time the congregation got out of the church to see what was happening, it was discovered that the estate agent was already in the pool of his blood.
“The shells of the bullet used in killing the deceased had been recovered and the corpse had been deposited at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital for postmortem.
“People should not entertain any fear as the Police and other security agencies are working towards unraveling the situation surrounding the incident.”
The statement indicated that men of the Nigeria Police had been deployed to strategic points as investigations continued in a bid to get to the root of the matter.
His old time friend and associate, Adekunle Akinlade, wrote of the deceased, “Bayo Babarinde, yours was a very fulfilled life despite the numerous challenges. Although, I didn’t know much of your early life, reflecting on our first meeting at Yewa High School Ajilete, Ogun State in 1987, it will be safe to say that all odds was against you like many of our contemporaries.
“Out of sheer grace, a few of us made it out and you went on to study at the University of Benin while I went to the Lagos State University.
“Our path crossed again in 2007 while I was putting a team together for my company and in your selfless nature, you offered to relocate to Ilorin with your family with the view to stabilize our operations in Kwara State.”
Akinlade, the governorship candidate of Allied People’s Movement in the 2019 election in Ogun State, further wrote, “For the last 34 years, you held up your end of the rope until the cold hands of death forced you to drop it on Sunday 17th October, 2021. Most painful for me is the fact that you departed this world on the same date that I lost my mother 24 years ago.
“My dear brother, I take solace in the fact you grew closer to your creator to the very end and it is also symbolic that your killers were said to have called you out of the church. I still can’t process the shock and pain your young family will be going through now, to think that you all left home that faithful Sunday morning to worship God and they returned without you.
“Regardless of the motive or justification if any, no one deserves to die the way you did. I will miss you my dear brother and friend, Adieu, Bayo Babarinde.”
