Funke Fasoranti: Police asked us for N1,000 to buy fuel – Driver

BY OUR EDITOR

Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, daughter of Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, who was killed recently by alleged Fulani herdsmen on the Ore axis of the Benin-Ore-Sagamu Highway, may have survived the attack that led to her death, if help had come earlier.

Narrating events that led to the final moments of the 58-year-old mother of two and grandmother, a man, Tayo Ogundare, said to be her driver, gave a graphic account of the sad incident that occurred Friday, July 12, 2019.

Ogundare, who drove Mrs. Olakunrin in a Land Cruiser SUV, marked LAGOS AAA 147 FM, spoke with Sunday Vanguard at the ljapo residence of the Olakunris.

“We left Akure for Lagos. We stopped over at Ore toll gate to buy soft drinks. After leaving the scene, we had not driven more than five minutes when we started hearing gunshots.

“It was like we were their target because the shooting was concentrated on our car while a Sienna bus marked ABUJA KUJ 345 S J coming behind us was shot only once.”

“Olufunke Olakunri, who was sitting at the back of the car, said I should reverse the car. As I wanted to put the car in reverse gear, some masked men, about 20, jumped from the bush to the expressway and rained bullets on the car.

“Before we knew what was happening, another set of people, also masked, jumped out from the opposite side of the road and shot at the side where madam was sitting.

“A bullet entered the vehicle through the back door, pierced the seat belt used by Madam before hitting her on the side,” the driver recounted.

According to Sunday Vanguard a shot was fired at the front passenger’s seat of the SUV by the attackers who possibly believed that the owner was with a police escort while two shots were fired at the owner’s side and one directly at where the car battery was placed ostensibly to demobilize the car if the driver refused to stop.

Ogundare continued: “The car was still moving and suddenly one of the killers shot at the front tyre and the car hit the culvert and somersaulted.

“Everybody (in the car) was panicky and the car stopped. I jumped out of the broken windscreen with the housemaid and we both ran into the bush.

“We heard several gunshots from where we were hiding inside the bush. It was later that we heard a police siren and we came out.

“At this point, Madam was still breathing and the police asked us to bring money for fuel so that she could be taken to hospital.

“We begged them to assist us in taking her to hospital but one of them asked us to bring N1,000 to fuel their vehicle.

“She would have survived if not for the delay in taking her to hospital. We later heard that she died in hospital.”