Police kill 50 in Kogi - In reprisal attack - 4 killed, 29 houses burnt in Ibadan

From Johnson Babajide and Akin Durodola - 28.02.2008

ABOUT 50 persons were feared killed in Ogaminana in Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State following a reprisal attack by mobile policemen who lost two men during a crisis.

Also, several houses and vehicles were said to have been set ablaze by the security men.

A member of the state House of Assembly from the constituency, Honourable Momoh Jimoh Anda, who raised the issue on the floor of the House on a matter of urgency, alleged that 15 people of his constituency had been killed by policemen as of Wednesday morning.

But eyewitnesses told the Nigerian Tribune that about 50 people were killed by the mobile policemen and over 60 houses and several vehicles burnt.

The mobile policemen were said to be avenging the killing of two of their colleagues by hoodlums on Sunday.

During the Sunday crisis, hoodlums were said to have attacked the mobile policemen deployed in the area to protect the workers of a firm and in the process, killed two policemen, injured three and abducted one corporal.

The mobile policemen, according to sources, were alleged to have invaded the houses of the people of the area shooting and burning the houses.

Reacting to the incident, the state police command, through its Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Onu Inalegwu, blamed the youths in the area for the calamity that befell them.

He confirmed that the policemen invaded the area in search of the abducted corporal on Monday.

He, however, declined to comment on the casualty, saying that he did not know the actual figure.

In Oyo State, four persons lost their lives while 29 houses were razed on Tuesday night at Akinyele area of Ibadan as a truck loaded with petrol fell, spilling its content which torched the houses.

According to eyewitnesses, the incident, which happened at 8.30 p.m., was caused by the recklessness of two tanker drivers who were trying to overtake each other.

Those who died in the incident were a two-month-old baby, a 65-year-old man, the driver of the tanker and his assistant.

Some residents who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune said that but for the efforts and timely intervention of firefighters, the disaster would have been greater.

The 65-year-old man was said to have been buried a few hours after the incident.

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Oyo State command, confirmed the incident.

The Public Enlightenment Officer, Mrs. M.A. Alade, said that their men, the intelligence officer and rescue officer, were at the scene of the incident at Alase, Moniya, Wednesday morning to assess the situation of things.

The state deputy governor, Alhaji Taofeek Arapaja, was also at the scene of the incident on Wednesday morning for on the spot assessment and to commiserate with the victims of the inferno.

Describing the incident as devastating and unfortunate, the deputy governor blamed it on the negligence of the tanker drivers.

He urged the tanker drivers to obey all traffic rules and regulations and be careful while driving.