Gunmen assassinate hotelier in Kwara

Gunmen suspected to be cultists have killed a hotel manager in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. The victim, identified as Anthony Balogun, was managing the hotel owned by his mother before the tragic incident occurred. According to sources, the incident happened at about 8pm on Thursday, August 8, 2024, at the hotel located in Olunlade area of ​​Ilorin. It was gathered that two gunmen entered the hotel premises and demanded to see Anthony. Believing them to be potential guests, the deceased came out of his room to meet them at the reception. The assailants then lured him outside the reception and shot him in the chest at close range. They later attacked him with machetes, inflicting serious injuries on his head, hands and legs. The deceased’s elder sister, who confirmed the incident to the Nigerian Tribune, narrated her last communication with him. He called me at about 6:30pm and at about 7:00pm, he tried to convey information to me. I was in the kitchen, so I asked one of my children to pick up the call, with the intention of calling him back later,” she said. “When I called him back at 8:00pm, his phone was switched off. After several attempts, I received a call from his wife, asking me to come to the Kwara State General Hospital, now Kwara State University Teaching Hospital, Ilorin. That is where I found his lifeless body, badly mutilated. A source at the Ganmo Divisional Police Station, where the matter was reported, described the incident as a possible homicide.