A ward chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Igbara Oke Ifedore Local Government Area, Ondo State, Ayodele Kikiowo, has been killed by a gang of yet to be known assailants.

According to Kikiowo’s daughter, Modupe Kikiowo, who spoke to newsmen on Friday, the deceased was strangulated to death.

Until the incident, he was the chairman of the APC in his Ward 10, also former ward head of the Labour party (LP) before it collapsed following the defection of Governor Olusegun Mimiko to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his subsequent directive that the LP should merge with the PDP.

A resident, Dayo Babalola, disclosed that Kikiowo refused to join the PDP and chose the APC instead.

“Kikiowo said he couldn’t go to the PDP because he didn’tlike the party so he decided to move to the APC.

“Since then, he had been canvassing for the APC, and nearly all the people in the ward followed him to the APC; as a result of this, he had been threatened severely to the extent that some PDP stalwarts said he would soon be ‘eliminated’ for such action,” Babalola told newsmen.

Police Public Relations Officer, Ondo State Command, Oluwole Ogodo, confirmed that one suspect has been arrested but refused to give further details:

“Investigation has begun, but we can’t give out much detail for now,” he said.

•Adapted from Saturday Independent.