18th July, 2013
A driver to former Nigerian Senator Ayo Arise, a governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Mr. Nasir Saliu, was on Thursday confirmed dead after being shot by armed robbers in Ibadan.
According to The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the cousin of the driver, who was simply identified as Moshood, was also injured in the attack.
Investigations revealed that the duo had travelled from Ado-Ekiti to Ibadan on Wednesday to buy a fairly used car.
They were said to have been trailed by the hoodlums to a branch of a new generation bank where they had gone to withdraw money for the purchase.
The robbers were said to have shot him and his cousin before making away with the N650,000 he had withdrawn from the bank.
The spokesman of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, where the victims were taken to, Mr. Ayodeji Bobade, confirmed the death of Saliu.
He, however, said Moshood was still undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Arise, in an early reaction, expressed shock at the killing of his driver.
“Nasir was like my own son. He had been my driver since 1999; 14 years ago.
“He left Abuja for Ado Ekiti on Tuesday so that he could pick me up at the Akure Airport on Friday.
“On Wednesday, he went to Ibadan to buy a car but was killed. I learnt he had N650,000 on him.
“On his way from the bank, he was attacked by armed robbers. They shot him and his cousin, Moshood, who came with him,’’ he said.
He called on the police to be alive to their responsibilities.
But the Oyo State Police Command, said that the incident had not been reported to it.
The spokesperson of the command, Mrs. Olabisi Ilobanefor, said such an incident could not have happened unnoticed.
“ As far as the command is concerned, there is no report that his (Arise) driver was attacked by armed robbers in Ibadan,’’ she said.