Bandits storm FGC Kebbi, kill policeman, abduct students, teachers

*Another officer killed in Ogun, four expatriates kidnapped

*Two die in Ibadan motor park battle

STEPHEN GBADAMOSI, IBADAN, Abiodun Taiwo, Abeokuta, Tom Okpe, Abuja

Kebbi State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of some students of the Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, on Thursday afternoon.

Five teachers were also abducted while a policeman was killed during the attack.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Adeleke Adeyinka-Bode, confirmed the incident in Birnin Kebbi on Thursday, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

“The truth is that the attack took place and five teachers have been taken away, four male and one female, but the number of students abducted are not known yet.

“The attack took place around 12:pm, and during the crossfire between police and the bandits, some students had been injured and one police officer was also injured and another was killed. These are the facts I can give to you,” he said.

The police commissioner said that the school principal who should provide details of the number of students abducted was still in shock.

“The principal is not in the best state of mind as I am speaking to you now, because parents have trooped into the school searching for their children.

“So the principal cannot make proper head count call,” he added.

Also in Ogun State gunmen numbering about eight on Wednesday evening abducted four workers of a Chinese company handling the Lagos-Ibadan standard guage railway project and killed a policeman in the process.

The incident which occured at Adeaga/Alaagba village in Odeda Local Government Area of the state created panic among residents of the area.

The Daily Times gathered that the kidnappers who were alleged to be herdsmen were all dressed in black caftan.

The gunmen who stormed the site of the rail project at Adeaga/Alaagba killed a policeman while struggling to abduct the Chinese workers.

It was further gathered that the gunmen had laid ambush in the surrounding forest for the expatriates at the sleepy town between Oyo -Ogun border.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the incident on Thursday morning.

He disclosed that, the Command has deployed tactical teams and are on the trail of the gunmen.

Oyeyemi, however, said the police could not ascertain whether the gunmen were Fulani herdsmen or not.

“It is true, the incident happened yesterday (Wednesday). The victims are Chinese expatriates working at the construction site at the terminus of the railway around Alaagba area, not far from Kila.

“The gunmen laid ambush for the victims on their way and they were attacked. A police officer escorting them was killed.”

Also in Oyo State, two persons were confirmed killed on Wednesday when men of the state Park Management System (PMS) allegedly attacked some shop owners in Iwo Road area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The attack on the shop owners was said to be in continuation of an earlier attack and a counter-attack between the PMS boys and members of the proscribed National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on Monday.

The Monday attack was said to have resulted in the death of two persons, one allegedly each from both camps.

The incident happened around Oremeji-Agugu area of the capital city.

However, peace was shattered on Wednesday when the PMS boys stormed the Baba Onilu roundabout area of Iwo Road, attacking the shops where phones were being sold.

They were said to have unleashed terror on the phone sellers and shop owners destroying kiosks, show-glasses and every available items while also looting.

One member of the NURTW was said to have been killed in the process, while many others suffered varying degrees of injuries.

A son of one of the shop owners, simply identified as Ahmed, was said to have been killed in an effort to identify those formentting trouble on the property.

The incident led to a heavy crisis as commuters and road users scampered to safety while the crisis lasted.

Sources said there were heavy gunshots by the PMS boys while the crisis lasted.

In an effort to defend themselves, suspected members of the sacked NURTW were said to have replied with gun battle while also throwing objects in the direction of the attackers.

However, a mild drama played out as the dust settled and the body of Ahmed was found by the entrance of a shopping complex.

Youths in the area who knew him later carried his corpse and headed for the Oyo State Government Secretariat, Agodi, in protest.

The protesters carrying the corpse arrived the secretariat complex shortly after Governor Seyi Makinde finished the weekly security meeting with the security chiefs in the state.

They dropped the corpse by the entrance of the Governors Office, while shouting on the governor to come out and see what the PMS boys had done.

The governor, however, could not attend to them while the protest lasted.

The intervention of government functionaries and presence of reinforced security team prevented the issue from escalating into another crisis within the Secretariat Complex.

Many of the angry youths who came later were also prevented from gaining entrance into the secretariat and monitored by heavily armed combined security team.

After much persuasion, the corpse of Ahmed was later conveyed to the morgue in a state government branded ambulance.

As of the time of filling this report, major roads around the capital city had been deserted with tension and fear of reprisal all over.

Meanwhile, a member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Tanko Sununu has cried out over what he described as unrelentless killings of his constituents by unidentified gunmen.

The lawmaker who represents Yauri/Sanga/Ngaski Federal Constituency of Kebbi State in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly, lamented on Thursday that Kebbi State once priding itself as the most peaceful in Nigeria had taken a path of destruction by bandits.

Addressing journalists in a press briefing at the National Assembly Complex House, Dr Sununu said the spate of killings in his home state Kebbi, especially his constituents by bandits is alarming and often times, comes in, having a field day.

He stated that not so long after a boat carrying 154 persons capsized in a river while ferrying victims of the mishap, another killing by bandits occurred in the constituency on Wednesday June 16, 2021 claiming many lives.

According to him, the bandits visited the houses of the victims of the most recent attack one after the other, ransacking homes and carting away valuable properties including money in raw cash, handsets and heads of Cattle.

“They left a message that they will come back and they came back after the first attack which claimed lives of many residents of my constituency,” he said.

He also hinted that a lot of uncountable killings by unidentified gunmen had taken place in the entire state and constituency, calling on the Federal Government to urgently secure the area, adding that education of the citizens of Kebbi State had suffered badly due to banditry as the Government College Yawuri and other institutions of learning in the area also suffered similar attacks by unknown gunmen.

He said that many of his constituents had been thrown into Internally Displaced Camps IDPs due to the crisis, calling for more military surveillance.