A suspected thief on Thursday killed a traditional chief in Ekiti State, Adewole Ajayi, during a failed attempt to steal some yams from a farm owned by the deceased.
Ajayi, until his gruesome death was the Arisawe of Iroko-Ekiti in Ijero Local Government Area.
The suspect, Dele Ojo Aro, was said to have shot Ajayi with a locally made gun and fled into the bush.
The late Ajayi’s farm is located in Oke Oro, a neighbouring community.
The killing has since heightened tension between the two towns.
Aro was later arrested after a search party was raised to trail him, and he is now in police custody.
It was learnt that Ajayi had gone to his farm in the early hours of Thursday and found the suspect uprooting his yams.
According to a resident, Johnson Kayode, the suspect went to the deceased’s farm to steal yams from where he shot the community leader in the hips, while attempting to apprehend him.
Kayode said: “The two are having their farms along the same route, but Chief Ajayi went to farm at about 6am yesterday and found him there. May be in an attempt to arrest him, he quickly shot him with a locally made gun in the hips and disappeared.
“But unfortunately for him, he ran into the bush and they have not seen him since then. He has refused to come out of his hideout, maybe his conscience is chasing him around.
“But when the news of the death broke out, people started probing into those that went to farm early and that was how some testified that the suspect was seen going to farm and people started suspecting him from there.”