From Adewale Momoh, Akure

Unknown armed men in the early hours of Tuesday killed a popular hotelier and socialite, Adesoji Adeleye, in Akure, Ondo State capital.

The socialite and owner of Klass Five Hotel was stabbed to death in one of the rooms of his hotel situated in the Arakale axis of Akure metropolis where he slept over.

According to sources, the armed men, who seemed to be familiar with the premises, found their way into the hotel and met Adeleye, who was awake and ready for the day’s work.

The men were said to have overpowered the hotelier and stabbed him severely before he died, leaving him in a pool of his blood.

A close associate of the deceased revealed that he was with Adeleye on Monday night with a promise to meet again today but expressed surprise over the killing of his friend of many years.

A source within the community, however, said the incident was reported to the police, and detectives from the State Police Command visited the scene of the incident.

He said the men of the police command took the remains of the deceased to the mortuary while some people were being questioned over the incident.

Confirming the incident, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Alexander Olayinka, said the middle-aged man was killed on his hotel premises.

He said: “We have sent a team of detectives to the place, and we are on the trail of the perpetrators, and as soon as we apprehend them, they will be brought to book.”

Olayinka, however, said the case has been transferred to state police headquarters for discreet investigation, with a promise to fish out the perpetrators.