Residents of the Isolo community have been thrown into a state of mourning and palpable fear following the brutal assassination of Miss Cynthia Ejinkeonye, a prominent advocate for women and children, on Thursday.
The deceased, who served as the coordinator for the Ideal Outcome Foundation, was reportedly shot dead by unidentified gunmen at approximately 2:00 PM while conducting interviews at her office.
Eyewitness accounts suggest the attack was carried out with surgical precision. The gunmen reportedly stormed the premises and “snatched life out of her” in the presence of bystanders.
Sources close to the family revealed that Miss Ejinkeonye had only recently resumed operations at the NGO. The foundation had been abandoned for several years following a series of violent threats and a previous assassination attempt in November 2017.
Records indicate that Cynthia and her sister, Mrs. Barbara Odumodu, were survivors of a similar ambush during a program in Ikotun in 2017. While Mrs. Odumodu subsequently fled to the United States for safety, Cynthia was recently encouraged to restart her advocacy work by local supporters.
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When The Nation correspondent arrived at the scene, the atmosphere was heavy with grief. Officials from the Isolo Local Government were seen retrieving the victim’s remains for transport to the morgue.
A local resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the late activist as a “beacon of hope” for the vulnerable.
“She was friendly, helpful, and her NGO truly turned lives around for women and children in this area. We are in total shock that such a brutal murder could happen in broad daylight,” the resident lamented.
When contacted for comment, the Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident. He stated that he was yet to be fully briefed on the specifics of the case but promised a thorough investigation.
As of the time of filing this report, the police authorities had not provided further updates regarding arrests or leads. A family source disclosed that the Ejinkeonye family remains devastated, noting that previous reports of threats to the police had yielded no protection or proactive measures.