By Dada Ahmed.
Panic swept through two communities:Oke-Agi and Ilai,
Mopamuro Local Government Area of Kogi State on Sunday, sequel to coordinated bandit attacks on them.
Feelers from the two communities said the attacks occurred at about 4:00 a.m., resulting in loss of lives, others injured while some abducted.
Our Correspondent gathered that the armed assailants who struck the two communities simultaneously operated for more than an hour before the residents could make distress call for rescue.
The first incident, sources further said,took place at Jamroro settlement, located between Oke-Agi and Takete Isao during which two persons were said to have also lost their lives while three others that sustained injuries are receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
The second attack,the sources added,occurred within the vicinity of Ilai Grammar School, less than one kilometre from Ilai town, living one person dead and three others kidnapped.
Residents of the affected communities have expressed the need for quick response to attacks, noting that the assailants operated in their communities for over an hour, unhindered,before they could alert their neighboring communities for rescue.
They also stressed the need for security agencies and government authorities to intensify efforts in deploying decisive measures to curb the rising wave banditry in Mopamuro LGA and other neighbouring communities.
Local government officials were said to be at the hospital attending to the injured victims.
The Police Public Relations Officer,PPRO, for the Police Command in Kogi state,CSP. . William Ovie Aya, confirmed the attack in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Lokoja on Sunday.
In a statement he later sent to our correspondent,he said:”The incident occurred in the interior of the Okeagi bush, where one person was killed, two others were abducted, and three sustained injuries.
“A tactical team led by the Area Commander, Kabba, later visited the scene in company with local hunters and vigilante groups to assess the situation and reinforce security.
“Efforts are ongoing to rescue the two abducted victims and restore calm to the area.”
