The family of Dr. Akintayo Oguntuase, Head of Pediatrics at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, who was found dead in his clinic in Akure, after it was razed by a mysterious fire in the eve of Christmas, has said the medical practitioner was murdered in cold blood.

Universal Medical Clinic was in flames in the midnight of December 24, when residents of Araromi area of the city were in a festive mood and by the time the billows of fire and smoke faded out in the morning of December 25, the proprietor, Oguntuase, was found burnt and mutilated.

While the police in Ondo are still busy examining the different theories and leads to unraveling the cause of the fire, the deceased's family has concluded that the medical practitioner was killed by assassins and burnt to give a semblance of a fire accident.

Otunba Ben Oguntuase, the elder brother of deceased, in a statement made available to our correspondent on Friday, said, "Dr. David Akintayo Oguntuase, a Consultant Pediatrician and Head of Pediatrics at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, was brutally murdered by assassins/arsonists, leaving behind a most gory sight."

He said a thorough examination of the remains of the hospital and the site of the incident revealed trails left behind by the murderers and how they accomplished the dastardly act.

"Evidently, they shot him in the main clinic area and carried his body to the room in the back area where the left him face down. Not done, they severed his hands and legs before proceeding to douse the body with petrol.

"The rest of the building on the inside was sprinkled with petrol before it was all set ablaze. It obviously was an inferno that raged leading the building to implode as the roof caved inward," the senior Oguntuase stated.

He noted that the fire did not affect other buildings around, suggesting that it was professionally plotted and executed.

Explaining the premises on which his theory was based, Ben Oguntuase said the walls of the clinic were stained with blood, showing that the slain medical practitioner was attacked and dragged to the place where he was eventually burnt.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Ondo State, Mr. Wole Ogodo, said although the command had yet to get a full briefing on the development, the family would be required to come up with the leads and substantial evidence supporting their position.