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| A Nigerian police officer on duty. File photograph. Factual Evolution Media / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. |
Police in Edo State have begun investigating the killing of Julius Bello, an All Progressives Congress ward chairman in Fugar, and are seeking his son, Irobudo, in connection with the incident.
The command’s spokesperson, Eno Ikoedem, confirmed that officers had received a report of the killing and opened an investigation. She said the suspect remained at large.
“The police have commenced investigation into the matter, and the suspect is currently at large,” Ikoedem said in a statement reported by The Punch.
Bello, who was popularly known as De Lord Ogata, chaired the APC in Ward Three, Fugar, in Etsako Central Local Government Area.
Family sources said the attack occurred on Sunday, 8 November, shortly after Irobudo returned from Lagos, where he had been staying before travelling home at the weekend.
According to their account, the son allegedly struck Bello on the head with a sledgehammer, inflicting fatal injuries.
Relatives also offered an account of a possible motive. They alleged that prophets had told Irobudo his father was responsible for his persistent poverty and inability to progress in life.
Leadership reported that family sources linked those alleged statements to resentment towards Bello before the attack. Those claims came from relatives; Ikoedem’s reported comments did not establish a motive for the killing.
The police said they were working to apprehend the suspect and establish the circumstances surrounding Bello’s death. As of the reports published on Monday, 9 November, officers had not located him.