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By Christopher Oji
Gunmen, at the weekend, sacked the Ipetu Baba Ode community, along Idiroko road, Ogun State.
The gunmen numbering over 60, who were allegedly led by a land grabber shot many people.
As of the time of this report, some people were said to be missing, while many were receiving treatment at various hospitals.
Following the inversion, residents of the community have made a passionate appeal to the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abodun, to save them from the hands of the alleged notorious land grabber.
Also, the residents accused policemen from the General Investigation Department (GID), Force Headquarters, of aiding and abetting the land grabber to attack on the town. One of the victims of the attack, Emmanuel Oyeniyi, has been unconscious and said to be on life support.
Oyeniyi was shot in the abdomen and in the hand, while trying to escape from the attackers. The attack on the community reportedly occurred less than two months after the police at the force headquarters had thoroughly investigated the crisis in the town. The land grabbers had reportedly signed an undertaking at the force headquarters in Abuja not to have anything to do with the community again.
A source at the Onipanu Police Station, who pleaded anonymity, while speaking with Daily Sun confirmed the attack on the village. The police source, however, said, “this is not the first or second time that they are attacking the village with heavy arms.”
One of the victims of the latest attack, Bamidele Abiodun, said, “we were in the village in the night between Thursday and Friday, when we started hearing gunshots. The gunshots were heavy. We all thought that war had started. We ran in different directions.
“When I ran out, I saw the leader of the team giving the gunmen directives. I tried to escape.
Something hit me, but I kept running. It was after they had gone that I realised that I had been shot. Many people were shot. The gunmen were just shooting sporadically. They were armed with AK 47. Many people are missing now.
“The last time they came, they killed one of our villagers and took his body away. Till today, he has not been found. The government should save us. One of the villagers was shot in the abdomen and the bullets came out from the other side of his body. The same thing with his hand.”
A community leader, Alhaji Yaya Alayande, said: “These people have become terrorists on our land. The police should take decisive action now. They have continued to kill and maim innocent villagers, despite the fact that they had signed an undertaking at the force headquarters that they won’t come to our village again.
Efforts to get the reaction of the image maker in charge of the Ogun State Police Command, SP Omolola Odutola, failed as her phone number was unavailable at the time of this story.
