Gunmen numbering up to seven have reportedly killed one person and abducted seven other travellers along the Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode expressway.
The gunmen armed with A.K 47 rifles were said to have waylaid and attacked the travellers in between the Ilisan, Ceplast industry and Iperu junction axis of the expressway on Friday.
A viral audio from one of the victims of the tragic incident, who was apparently a driver heading to Lagos, detailed how the gunmen stopped their vehicles with sporadic shooting and later marched them into the bush.
He said, “This incident happened at past five in the evening, they were armed to the teeth with A.K 47 rifles shooting heavily. They even killed one person who was inside a Lexus car. So, they marched about seven of us inside the bush and when I saw that they were speaking Hausa, I started speaking Hausa to them begging them not to kill me, so they asked if I was a northerner but I said no, that I have once lived in Kebbi and Sokoto.
“They kept taking us further inside the bush, later they asked if I had any money, so I gave them the N103,000 and my phone. There was another driver from the east who said that the kidnappers had collected N120,000 from him just as we were abducted. They later set the two of us free while the other five people abducted were still with them”.
Speaking with our Correspondent on Monday, the Spokesperson of Ogun State police command, SP Omolola Odutola confirmed the incident.
Odutola said that the police could not confirm the number of people that were abducted but noted that the gun-wielding hoodlums killed one of the travellers yet to be identified.
She said the incident which happened on May 3, around 6:55 pm was incidented as a case of armed robbery, murder and kidnapping.
Odutola said: “We have information that about seven people whom we don’t know with A.K 47 suddenly blocked the Benin-Sagamu expressway.
“The DPO of Ilisan when he got to the scene of the incident saw two vehicles pierced with bullets; a Lexus Jeep 300 with registration number LND 640 DY, the driver’s name is Chilaka Lugard and another Lexus Jeep 350 with registration number LSR 996 JF belonging to Kingsley Chineme. Inside this Lexus 350 car was found a cross bag with N113,000, two iPhones; an iPhone Six and an iPhone Eleven Promax.
“There was also a corpse of an unidentified man who was shot in the head.
“The third vehicle was loaded with plantains and the driver who was among those abducted, regained freedom and was later allowed to go with the vehicle. The other Lexus vehicles have been taken to Ilishan Police Station.”
Odutola said the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu was not happy with this security breach and had in an emergency meeting summoned on Monday, directed the tactical commanders and the mobile squadron to go after these undesirable elements.
She said ‘the CP had been to the scene of this incident, and a lot of work is ongoing to fish these people out and let them answer for their criminality, I can assure you that, these criminals will be apprehended just very soon.”
About three weeks ago, some rampaging eight gunmen had stormed Ajadeh Event Centre along the Iperu-Sagamu road and snuffed the life out of Professor Yinka Olomojobi, a lecturer with Babcock University, Ilisan Remo.
Olomojobi, a Professor of Human Rights and Gender Law was reportedly shot dead on the fateful day around 9 pm by these daredevil gunmen for allegedly resisting his abduction.
The lecturer and others were at this relaxation centre when these hoodlums began disturbing the serenity of the environment with their heavy shooting.
By the time the dust settled, Olomojobi had been killed while two others, one Dare and another unidentified person had been whisked away.
The police however said that one Awada Ishaya from Plateau State had been picked up as prime suspect of the sordid act.
Ishaya was said to have just been employed two weeks ago as a security guard when the event centre was opened.