TRAGEDY IN OUR BACKYARD: Agboyi-Ketu Real Estate Investor and NURTW Chieftain Toba "Ijaya" Ajiboye Ambushed, Succumbs to Gunshot Wounds

A heavy cloud of grief and tension has enveloped the Agboyi-Ketu community following the tragic passing of one of our most prominent real estate investors and transport heavyweights, Comrade Toba Ajiboye. Popularly known across Lagos State as Toba Ijaya, the influential Organising Secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Lagos State Council was brutally ambushed by unidentified gunmen on the night of Sunday, 12 July 2026.

While Toba Ijaya was a formidable force across the state’s transport corridors, his deep personal love for the Ketu community was cemented by both marriage and major investments, leading him to make Agboyi-Ketu LCDA his permanent home.

Toba’s connection to our community was not superficial; he was fully integrated into the socioeconomic fabric of our local council development area. His affinity for the area was profoundly personal, having married a Ketu indigene, an alliance that firmly bound him to the local community.

Driven by this love for his wife's homeland and a vision to see Ketu develop, he poured massive capital into the local property market. He invested heavily in prime properties along the busy Elebiju Road axis, establishing a strong physical presence in the area.

Local estate brokers confirm that Toba owned several other residential and commercial properties across various choice locations in Agboyi-Ketu LCDA, making him a major stakeholder in the community's expanding real estate sector. His sudden death has left local residents, neighbours, and business partners in complete shock.

According to verified security reports, the fatal incident occurred while Comrade Ajiboye was traveling along the Ikorodu Road corridor on Sunday night. A group of heavily armed men blocked his white vehicle and opened fire without warning, riddling the windscreen and the car's body with bullets.

Images and videos that rapidly circulated across local social networks showed the extensive damage to the vehicle. While initial reports on Monday suggested that Ajiboye had survived the immediate volley of gunfire despite sustaining severe injuries, fresh updates confirmed he tragically succumbed to his gunshot wounds while receiving emergency treatment at St. Nicholas Hospital.

The death of Toba Ijaya has sent shockwaves through the local transportation unions, particularly under the leadership of Lagos NURTW Chairman Mustapha Adekunle (Sego), who described the deceased as a highly loyal ally.

Independent security assessments by localized investigative networks indicate that the targeted hit may be a heavily calculated retaliation linked to older, deep-seated local disputes. Intelligence tracking groups, such as the anti-cult resource Naija Confra, explicitly note that while Ajiboye was not a formal cult member himself, he was a highly connected political asset who wielded massive influence over street groups during election cycles. Speculation on the ground heavily links his ambush to the unresolved April 2026 killing of a rival political mobilizer named "Agali" in the Iponri area of Surulere.

To prevent a total breakdown of law and order or violent reprisal attacks from transport loyalists, the Lagos State Police Command has moved aggressively to secure the area.

Right now, Elebiju Road is mounted with a massive, visible presence of armed police officers and tactical units. Security operatives have established strategic checkpoints along the entire road corridor, heavily monitoring movements around Toba's local real estate assets and properties to proactively suppress any retaliatory disturbances or gathering crowds.

Teams from the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) have also been formally deployed to main intersections, bus terminals, and hot spots across Ketu, Somolu, and Fadeyi to preserve the peace while an active homicide investigation gets underway. Residents of Agboyi-Ketu and Ikosi-Isheri who regularly commute through Elebiju and the wider area are strongly advised to remain calm, cooperative, and highly vigilant as security forces maintain an active defensive perimeter.