•Kill four in Ibadan, unleash terror in Abeokuta
•Protest in Lagos as policeman kills bus driver
Sola Adeyemo, Ibadan, Kunle Olayeni, Abeokuta & Juliana Francis
BANDITS went on the rampage in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, yesterday.
At the end of the operation, four persons were killed.
During the confusion, nine vehicles were snatched. The more than 15 bandits operated for hours and a mobile policeman was killed at Idi-Ape. Another police officer was shot dead at an undisclosed area.
All banks along the popular Iwo Road axis quickly shut their gates to customers to avoid being attacked by the robbers.
One of the robbers was, however, gunned down by the police, while one was arrested, the police authorities said.
The robbers, who were in a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) had, about 9am at Apata, snatched a Toyota Sienna car being driven by Adeniran Adesoji and did not allow him to alight while about eight other cars were snatched along the way, caging the drivers in their vehicles.
The incident put the state police command on alert as Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) patrolled major streets of the metropolis. At Mokola area, Iwo Road and Ojoo, people were seen scampering about to escape stray bullets, while police at check points frisked private car drivers.
At Idi-Ape, the robbers, whose car was stopped and was about to be searched, poured bullets into the head and chest of a mobile policeman in front of Mr Bigg’s eatery at 11 am.
He was said to have been shot dead because he saw some of the robbers with guns.
On getting to Iwo Road, a plank seller named Musibau was shot dead by the fleeing robbers. He was receiving a call on his mobile phone while trying to cross the expressway. He was killed because the robbers thought he was calling the police.
He was said to be heading to Bodija to buy planks when the incident happened.
A boutique apprentice named Ayo was also shot at a shop close to the Intercontinental Bank, Idi Ape.
Before trying to escape through the expressway, the robbers had also, about 10 am, attacked a new generation bank at Onilearo area of Ojoo. They were already operating in the bank when a bullion van conveying money to the bank arrived. The robbers immediately waylaid the bullion van and the police escort vehicles and engaged them in a gun duel.
Some of the policemen around immediately took to their heels and sought safety in houses around.
Efforts to determine whether there were casualties at the bank and whether the money in the bullion van was stolen proved abortive because the Police Public Relations Officer, Miss Olabisi Okuwobi, directed that her boss should be contacted.
When contacted, the commissioner, Mr Bola Adisa Bolanta, gave the phone to another person who was not forthcoming with adequate response.
In Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the rampaging bandits took their vicious attack to the state Police Command Headquarters in Eleweran, causing serious panic among residents and leaving several commercial banks to hurriedly close shop.
For about one hour, the suspected armed robbers, who were armed with various sophisticated weapons, engaged policemen in fierce gun battle in Abeokuta but the men of the underworld eventually escaped when the heat was apparently unbearable for them.
One of the hoodlums was, however, arrested while items, including two rocket launchers, five bombs, four dynamites, one machine gun with bullet chain, AK 47 rifles, 1,000 live ammunition as well as 115 loaded and 145 expended ammunitions, were recovered from the suspects.
The Nigerian Compass gathered that the robbers, who had killed some policemen in Ibadan, during an earlier operation, escaped to Abeokuta about 1.30 p.m. but were promptly confronted by security operatives.
Determined to find their way into the capital city, the bandits, operating in a Hyundai car, fired several shots at policemen stationed in front of the Police Command Headquarters, Eleweran, forcing many motorists and passers-by to scamper to safety.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, who confirmed the incident yesterday, said men of the command responded to the hoodlums’ assault, resulting in a dramatic long encounter.
Sensing imminent defeat, the robbers snatched a Mazda car and fled the scene into a road leading to Aregbe community in Abeokuta and later abandoned the vehicle.
In a telephone interview with the Nigerian Compass, Adejobi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said with the number of sophisticated arms brought by the bandits, they apparently intended to raid some banks in the town.
He said: “We got a signal around 1 p.m that some robbers were on their way to Abeokuta from Ibadan. So, the Commissioner of Police (Alhaji Musa Daura) directed that his escorts, the mobile policemen should block the road (Abeokuta-Odeda-Ibadan Road). But while we were doing that in front of the gate of the command headquarters, we sighted a Hyundai car, coming from Odeda side,
driving dangerously.
“The police tried to stop the vehicle but we discovered that the occupants were not ready to stop for checking; we were cautious not to open fire at the wrong car. We then released a gun shot into the air and the robbers responded by firing back.”
The police spokesman explained that security operatives pursued the suspects through “unfamiliar terrain” and were able to apprehend one of the robbers while others escaped.
“The robbers abandoned the stolen car in the bush when they could not find their way out. In the Mazda car, we noticed that there was plenty bullet stains, which suggested that some of the bandits were wounded during the shootout. We have informed the villagers to look for any strange face in their villages and that was how we were able to arrest one of them as the villagers spotted one and
informed the police,” Adejobi said.
He, however, dismissed speculation that the bandits attempted to rob banks in the capital city.
Meanwhile, two other suspected armed robbers were arrested in Ibara GRA, Abeokuta yesterday by a team of policemen during a stop and search operation.
In Lagos, hell was let loose at the Egbeda-Akowonjo area of the Centre of Excellence when a policeman was mercilessly battered by an angry mob, after he allegedly shot a commercial bus driver dead.
According to eyewitnesses, the policeman had asked the driver for money, and when he refused to part with the money, the officer fired a shot at the bus.
The bullet allegedly perforated the driver’s throat thereby sparking pandemonium in the area. The victim was simply identified as Kazeem.
Before the shooter could make another move, an angry mob descended on him and beat him into a pulp.
While the beating was on, several police patrol vans arrived and there was heavy shootings for hours, as officers tried to disperse the rioters.
The police patrol van, which the shooter and his colleagues took to the area, was damaged, as protesters took to the streets chanting anti-police songs.
Kazeem’s corpse was seen hanging from the driver’s seat of his bus yesterday. He wore red T-shirt and blue jeans that were soaked with his blood.
The Nigerian Compass gathered that other fleeing policemen had radioed for help, when they saw that the situation was escalating. By the time help came, the situation was going out of control, so they had to radio for further re-enforcement.
As at 4p.m, yesterday, the Vulcaniser area, where the shooting took place, was crawling with scores of policemen, in about 25 patrol vans and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC).
The policemen were seen going from house to house to make arrests.
Police spokesman, Frank Mba, told the Nigerian Compass that 24 persons were arrested yesterday.
While describing the incident as a “spontaneous riot caused by alleged killing of driver by a policeman”, Mba said: “The riot was caused by touts, conductors and thugs in the area. They attacked patrol team and partially damaged their patrol van. A policeman was also attacked and severely injured. He is now at the hospital. Normalcy has been restored in the area, and the driver had been taken to the morgue awaiting autopsy.”
It was learnt that the slain driver’s wife just put to bed last week.
Reports say a truck driver was also killed, as he was driving through the area during the shooting.
