By Oluwole Ige
SUSPECTED hoodlums on Thursday killed a permanent secretary in the employ of Osun State, Mrs Olufunke Oluwakemi Kolawole.
Kolawole, who was Permanent Secretary, General Service, Office of the Governor, was said to be on her way to Abuja when she was kidnapped and subsequently hacked to death.
A statement by the state’s head of service, Mr Sunday Owoeye, which announced the murder, said Mrs Kolawole, a native of Modakeke, was attacked on Okene-Abuja Road.
Although the details of the killing were sketchy as of the time of this report, it was gathered that the deceased was waylaid.
A top civil servant who pleaded for anonymity told Saturday Tribune that Kolawole, who was travelling in her official car, had a company, whose identity is yet unknown, with her when the incident occurred.
A source close to the Kolawole family claimed the deceased was going to Abuja to attend the inauguration of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Mrs Abiola Adewemimo, as one of the judges of the National Industrial Court.
“This is a tragic moment for her family. Mrs Kolawole was only showing solidarity with a fellow permanent secretary who is to be sworn in today (Friday) as one of the 19 judges of the National Industrial Court, Abuja,” the source said.
Some civil servants close to Kolawole described her as a compassionate woman whose death was a painful one and a loss to Osun State.
The head of service disclosed that Kolawole was initially abducted and the matter was reported to the police.
According to him, a team that was promptly assembled by the police to locate and rescue her from the assailants found her body by the roadside about four hours after the kidnap.
“She was brutally attacked with machetes and was already dead when they found her,” he added.
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