Policeman killed, patrol vehicle burnt in Edo State

Gunmen suspected to be ex-militants have attacked a police patrol team by Ovia River bridge along Benin-Iguobazuwa road in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State.

Police sources said the attack, which happened on Monday left one policeman dead and three others injured while the patrol vehicle they were using was burnt.

The source added that the gunmen fired at the policemen from their speedboats stationed inside the river. One of the policemen was said to have returned fire and managed to escape with their guns into a nearby bush.

Meanwhile, cult killings appeared to have resurfaced in Edo State following the beheading of a young man identified as Ogbe at Uwelu area of Benin City.

Policemen attached to Ogida Police Division recovered the victim’s severed head at Iyobosa junction, off Uwelu road, few hours after the body of another boy identified as Wisdom was killed and dumped at the same junction by warring cult groups.

Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Johnson Kokumo, could not be reached for comments as at press time.In another development, the police have arrested a cripple and seven others for their alleged involvement in kidnapping, armed robbery, car snatching and other criminal activities. The suspects paraded include Umaru Ibrahim Mujuma, Jibrin Adamu, Samaila Haruna, Ibrahim Mohammed, Ibrahim Idris, Iliya Adamu, Ifeanyi Linus, Silas Kelvin and Kamilu Mohammed.

The police claimed that the cripple, Kamilu Mohammed, serves as the informant to the kidnappers. The group were said to be responsible for the murder of a youth leader, Haruna Maikudi Maikaji, who was killed in his farm at Sabon Gayan Village in Kaduna State on Sunday.

Items recovered from them include one AK47 rifle, one locally made revolver pistol, two single barrel locally made gun, seven rounds of AK47 ammunition, one round of live cartridges and two Toyota Corolla vehicles.

A statement in Abuja by the Force Spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood, reads: “In the course of investigation into the killing and the operation embarked by personnel of Operation Absolute Sanity in Sabon Gayan village and environs to root out and arrest the killers of the youth leader, the Special Tactical Squad team attached to Operation Absolute Sanity on the trail of the killers, were ambushed and attacked by the gang responsible for the killing.

“The information to the gang was traced to a cripple, Kamilu Mohammed, who phoned the kidnappers to inform them that the police are on their way to their hideout in the forest. The Special Tactical Squad personnel attached to Operation Absolute Sanity repelled the attack and in the process, two of the suspected kidnappers died as a result of the superior firepower. The cripple was later arrested and currently under investigation”.The police also noted that a Sergeant sustained injury and currently receiving treatment in the hospital.