Mr. Kawonise was on his way back from Awka, Anambra State when he was waylaid by the armed men around Ikeji Arakeji in Osun State.
They opened fire in order to force his vehicle to stop. The attackers were, however, repelled by his two police orderlies.. In the ensuing gun battle Mr. Kawonise was shot in the leg by the attackers while one of the two policemen also suffered gunshot wounds. The armed attackers later fled the scene while Mr. Kawonise and the wounded policeman were evacuated to a nearby hospital. Doctors treating the duo say they are stabilizing.
Kawonise was in Awka as the keynote speaker at the 17th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Anthropological and Sociological Association which held at the Nnamdi Azikwe University Awka. He made the journey by road because there was no available flight to neigbouring airports to Awka. The Police have commenced investigations into the incident.
Adegbenro Adebanjo
Editor, Westerner
November 6,2012
