A politician believed to be a major player in a political crisis in Nigeria's Ekiti State and held to possess documents related to a corruption probe there has been murdered, media reports said on Monday.
Segun Erinle, a former senior Ekiti public functionary, was killed on Sunday by unknown assailants at his Oba-Ile residence near Akure, the capital of nearby Ondo State, The Guardian newspaper reported.
Nigerian authorities had yet to confirm the murder, but the official News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said it had been confirmed by a police officer in Akure and a neighbour of the late politician.
Erinle, who retired from public service in 2004, was believed to have vital documents relating to the government of Ekiti State, which was suspended by President Olusegun Obasanjo last week amid a political storm over alleged graft.
Obasanjo last Thursday named a new governor to Ekiti State, imposed a state of emergency there, sacked the previous governor and his deputy and suspended the local parliament.
The Nigerian leader said that he took the measure to prevent anarchy in the state after several weeks of political crisis, which culminated last week in the impeachment of Ekiti Governor Ayo Fayose and his deputy.
The nation's anti-graft agency has indicted Fayose and his deputy over corruption.
Erinle's widow, Doyin Erinle, told The Guardian that the suspected killers arrived at their residence around 1:45 am (12.45 GMT) after scaling the fence and shot her husband several times before leaving about an hour later.
Nigerian police had on Sunday already paraded four suspected killers of a would-be candidate for the governorship in the troubled Ekiti State.
Ayo Daramola, a former World Bank consultant who had been the foremost challenger to Fayose in forthcoming elections before Obasanjo put a halt to the process, was killed by robbers in his country home in August.
Nigerian police boss Sunday Ehindero said the motives behind the attack on Daramola had not been fully established. He added that the question of a possible political motive for the killing "needs further clarification".
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Senate will resume on Thursday in Abuja for a "crucial session", an official statement said on Monday here.
Although the statement gave no details of the issue, political observers noted that the Senate would deliberate on whether to approve or disapprove of the measures Obasanjo took last week on Ekiti.