Armed Robbers Again Strike Commuters In Kogi, Kill Brothers

Daredevil armed robbers again struck on Saturday along the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State killing two brothers and injuring a policeman on roadblock duties.

The incident which occurred at about 6pm in between Itakpe and Kabba Junction end of the Okene -Lokoja – Abuja expressway forced commuters and travellers to scamper for safety while abandoning their vehicles in the middle of the road.

It was gathered that the victims who were brothers and from the central part of Kogi State, went to Lagos for holidays and were on their way back to their station in Katsina State when the incident occurred.

Africa Today News, New York further gathered that the robbers who were fully armed operated freely and later shot a yet to be identified police officer at a nearby checkpoint on the leg.

A woman who was caught up in the ugly incident but pleaded not to be mentioned on Sunday narrated her experience to told Newsmen.

‘We boarded our vehicle from Lagos around 7am but experienced heavy ‘go-slow,’ and not until after Ibadan, were we totally free from it.’

‘We got to Osara past 6pm. Our driver was following closely behind the vehicle that was attacked. Somewhere, the driver had to stop for a passenger who was pressed, to urinate, after which we saw oncoming motors flagging us to stop; that there was a robbery operation ahead.’

‘Some people ran helter-skelter but the residents will not allow us to take refuge in their houses. They said that if they did, the robbers would fish them out one by one.’

‘After quite a while, other vehicles continued on their journey, but ours will not start. The driver made contacts and a motor mechanic came over from the Kabba Junction to attend to us.’

‘When we got to the point of the attack, we heard that two brothers were shot and killed, while a policeman at the nearby checkpoint was shot in the leg. We heard that their remains were later evacuated and deposited at the State Specialist Hospital in Lokoja.’

 

AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK