Four people were killed and two others were injured by gunmen suspected of being bandits at Ofeapo, along the Idrisu-Bagana Road in Kogi State’s Omala Local Government Area.
Around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, the victims were returning from the crisis-ridden Bagana market when they were ambushed and killed by suspected bandits.
The victims, mostly traders, were riding in a tricycle known as the Keke Napep when gunmen opened fire at close range, killing four on the spot and injuring two others.
While confirming the incident, the Kogi State Police Command spokesperson, SP. William Aya, stated that one person, the tricycle rider, was killed and two others were injured and rushed to medical facilities in Abejukolo, the headquarters of Omala LGA.
He stated that the Commissioner of Police, CP Edward Egbuka, has dispatched a tactical squad and division officers to the scene in order to apprehend the perpetrators.
This comes as the Omala Local Government Area Traditional Council’s paramount ruler, HRH Boniface Musa, the Ojogba of Ife, condemned the heinous act and prayed to God to give the victims’ families the strength to bear the loss.
He decried the ongoing attacks on the Bagana people by unknown gunmen, lamenting that the killing has set back the peace process at a time when all hands have been on deck to ensure the safe return of IDPs to their homes.
He urged state Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello to intervene immediately in the lingering Bagana crisis, which has killed tens of people and left many homeless.
While urging him to implement the recommendations of the Col. Suleiman Babanawa (rtd.)-led committee, he also requested that security forces be deployed to Bagana town to prevent further bloodshed in the communities.
According to locals, the victims were two males and two females who were originally from Bagana but were forced to relocate to Abejukolo due to the community killings.
Locals lamented the killings, saying it was one too many for a community under siege for more than a decade.
Residents sobbed as they spoke to our correspondent about the assailants who shot and killed Mrs. Zainabu Abdullahi in front of her six-month-old baby and chopped off the head of another victim.
They urged Governor Bello to take over the community’s security architecture because efforts by his officials in the local government had failed to halt the carnage.
Remember that the Attah Igala, HRM Matthew Alaji Opaluwa, had told the belligerents to lay down their arms and embrace peace or face the wrath of the law.
However, with his Royal Majesty’s assurances of a workable peace process, the submission of committee reports in recent weeks, and the assurance of the Council’s Chairman, Ibrahim Aboh, to ensure people’s security, the market was opened before the ugly incident.
