Bandits kill 17, injure scores, abduct 18

Oshodi-Isolo LGA, chairman, Otunba Kehinde Oloyede begins repairing Ariyibi-Oke road, in Oshodi.

 ...One killed, two missing as hoodlums attack community

... Locals, herders' clash: 4 dead, 4 injured, 13 cows killed

SEVENTEEN people have been killed in Maza-Kula village in Mashegu Local Government Area of Niger State as suspected armed bandits invaded a mosque in an early morning attack, with many injured and eighteen abducted.

But, the state police command said that the incident was understood to be a reprisal attack resulting from a long-standing communal feud.

The armed men were said to have arrived in the village in a long convoy on motorcycles and made straight to the mosque where they started shooting sporadically to scare the people.

Those who rushed out of the Mosque were reportedly gunned down while others trapped in the mosque were also shot at close range and left in their pools of blood.

It was gathered that many, who were scampering for safety, sustained various degrees of injuries.

At the end of the raid, no fewer than eighteen people were abducted and their whereabouts unknown till now.

A resident, who pleaded anonymity, said they were caught unaware. “The entire village was calm with people in different mosques performing their morning prayers only to start hearing sporadic shooting and later heard that many people had been killed, others injured and some abducted

“ We are yet to know where they were taken to or those behind it,” he remarked.

When contacted, Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, confirmed the attack but said that sixteen people were killed in the Mosque while others were killed at Kaboji village by the same armed men.

He added that the state Government had already despatched a team of Military personnel to combe the area.

Chairman of the Council, Alh Alhassan Isa Maza_Kuka, who described the attack as devastating, however, said one of the injured people that is in critical condition has been referred to Minna General Hospital for medical attention.

The State Police Command, yesterday, confirmed the attack, as the Commissioner of Police, Mr Monday Kuryas, said the bandits killed an unspecified number of people and also abducted seven other worshipers at the mosque.

Kuryas said the incident occurred on Oct. 25 at about 0530 hours when the gunmen attacked the village.

He said the gunmen later destroyed property worth millions of Naira belonging to one Alhaji Abubakar Maigandus in the village.

He said security personnel, however, shot dead one of the bandits.

The commissioner said that the incident was understood to be a reprisal attack resulting from a long-standing communal feud.

He said that already additional armed security personnel had since been deployed to the area to ensure the arrest of the gunmen and all other miscreants undermining the peaceful coexistence among residents.

He urged the residents, especially those in the rural areas of the state, to come forward with reliable information that could aid the personnel deployed across the state to ensure the arrest and prosecution of all those involved in criminal acts.

“ We are battle-ready to confront any form of criminal elements as long as good residents will volunteer credible information on the movement of dubious characters in their midst,” Kuryas said.

One killed, two missing as armed hoodlums attack community 

ARMED hoodlums in the early hours of yesterday invaded the Igbo Oba community in the Igbesa area of Ogun State, with one person feared killed and seven others shot.

The whereabouts of two residents suspected to have been whisked away by the hoodlums were still unknown as of yesterday evening.

The attack on the community, according to the villagers, occurred less than 48 hours after they alerted the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Alkali Usman Baba, of an imminent invasion.

An earlier attempt by the hoodlums to attack the villagers was reportedly foiled by policemen from the Special Weapon and Tactical Squad, SWAT Abuja, who dislodged them.

But the hoodlums were said to have announced their return with sporadic gunshots, which jostled residents from sleep.

One of the injured persons, Idris Hamzat, receiving treatment at the Ota General Hospital, explained that “I was inside the room when the power generating set stopped working because petrol had finished. I was reluctant to go outside for fear of being attacked by robbers. My brother accompanied me. Immediately we stepped outside, I heard gunshots. I didn’t know the exact location it was coming from. We ran in different directions.

“I felt a sharp pain in my thigh but I kept running into the bush, as I could not go back to the house. In the process, I became dizzy and fell”.

Another victim, Oladimeji Akande, said, “ the hoodlums were about 100. A bullet hit me in the leg and other parts of my body. They thought I was dead. As I struggled to creep into the bush, they kept shooting in my direction. I was lucky to be alive”.

A resident, John Oloru Odo, said they identified two persons among the invaders. He disclosed that “ this is the fourth time that they have attacked us in the last one month. The attack came less than two days after we raised the alarm that these people were planning to invade our village. That was after they were chased away by SWAT officers from Abuja .”

Three suspects: Adewale Muibi, Kamoor Ayodele and Taofeek Ogunleye, have reportedly been arrested by policemen attached to the Agbara division. One of them, Muibi, a suspected member of the outlawed Odua People’s Congress, OPC was reported to have been found with 14 expended cartridges and six live cartridges.

During interrogation, Muibi admitted to having gone to the village with others but denied taking part in the attack. He also claimed that the recovered cartridges were given to him by an unidentified member of the gang.

He said, “ I was told that we were going for a security job. It was when I got to that area that I realised they wanted to use us as land thugs. I am a member of the OPC. I am a guard. It was Azeez that took me to the site. He lied to me that we were going for a security job. Those hired came from Idimu, Ikotun and Sango. My friend and I came from Okokomaiko

“ When I discovered that they wanted to use us as land thugs, I stayed back around the village. Unfortunately, I was later arrested with my friend”.

Locals, herders' clash: 4 dead, 4 injured 

*13 cows killed in reprisal attack

A CLASH between locals and some herders in Jankasa, Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State reportedly claimed four lives with three injured.

Kaduna State Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs,

Samuel Aruwan, who confirmed the incident in a statement, yesterday, said reports from military and police authorities, revealed that the clash occurred along some cattle routes in the area and then escalated into a firefight between the two groups before security forces arrived to bring the situation under control.

After the clash, the four people identified as Luka Nelson, Timothy Koni, Pasi Peter and George Frances, were killed.

Three persons, who sustained gunshot injuries during the fracas and received treatment in hospital, were identified as Daniel Dauda, Extra James and Henry Frances.

Also, security agencies reported that unknown gunmen in an apparent reprisal attacked some  herders at Manchok, Kaura LGA.

“Thirteen cows were confirmed killed  as troops recovered 25 cows alive from the area. No human casualties have been reported, as search, operations continue.

Meanwhile, security agencies are sustaining patrols in the general area.

Culled from Vanguard