Gunmen raid Ogun community, kill 15

No fewer than 15 persons have been reportedly killed in Imushin community in the Ogijo area of Ogun State by armed men suspected to be militants.

It was gathered that the militants, numbering about 100, armed with guns and cutlasses, invaded the community around 11pm on Friday, killing every resident in sight.

Among the 15 killed was a technician, Waheed Buhari, aka Yah Alau, who was shot dead in front of his room. One of his children, Mariam, sustained bullet wounds.

A travel agent, Mr. Oladele Ogundare, was said to be returning home in his car, when the rampaging militants opened fire on his car and killed him.

Another resident, Umoru, who was said to be eating noodles, was chased, hacked and shot to death, along with a friend, Danladi.

More than 25 shops in the community were looted by the militants.

A resident told Punch that the militants were suspected to be Ijaw youths involved in pipeline vandalism.

She explained that they were on a revenge mission as some operatives of the State Anti-Robbery Squad had killed two of the vandals earlier on Friday.

She said, “The whole thing began around 4pm on Friday. I was at the backyard of the hotel, cutting some weed when some SARS officers came in. They were shooting and ordering people to stop moving. There was confusion in the hotel.

“The SARS officials did not leave until after three hours. They killed two of the vandals and took away the owner of the hotel, a woman.

“Around 10pm, I went to urinate when I saw so many hoodlums coming from the waterside down the road. They carried sophisticated weapons and when they got here, they started shooting. They blew off the hotel windows and shot people dead. They killed two men here in Lapete village.”

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the attack, but said only three people were killed.

He said, “Around 11pm at Ereko Community, Ogijo, some hoodlums numbering about 100 invaded the community and started shooting sporadically. Bullets hit one Waheed Buhari and his daughter, Mariam. While Buhari died, the daughter is still at the hospital. Two other unidentified corpses were found, making a total of three deaths.

“Information from eyewitnesses showed that the hoodlums were militants and they came from the riverine area. But we have not confirmed this, as investigations are ongoing. We are particularly interested in why they came in such a large number.”