Again, gunmen attack bullion van, kill two in Ondo

Police, hunters kill three gunmen in Osun
Gunmen, suspected to be armed robbers, have again for the third time within six weeks, attacked a bullion van in Ondo State, and reportedly shot two persons dead on the spot.

The Guardian gathered that the incident happened, yesterday, in Asejire, along Ore, the headquarters of Odigbo Local Council of the state. The incident claimed the lives of a mobile policeman and the driver of the bullion van.

Eyewitnesses said the dare-devil armed robbers opened fire on the van and the escort while on motion.

According to one of the sources, the bullion van was conveying an undisclosed amount of money to Ore when they ran into the salvo of bullets from the suspected armed robbers who had laid ambush for them.

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mrs. Funmilayo Odunlami, who confirmed the attack, described the incident as unfortunate, adding that personnel from the command were on the trail of the robbers.

Odunlami urged the people to be calm, as the command had beefed up security measures to stamp out crimes in the state.

She added that the command had also begun thorough investigation to arrest the suspects and their syndicates.

IN another development, three gunmen have been killed by the combined efforts of police and local hunters in a gun-battle at a checkpoint in Osun State.

The incident occurred at Osunjela in Atakunmonsa West Local Council of the state yesterday.

The gunmen, numbering about five, armed with pump action assault rifles and dane-guns, were said to have run into the checkpoint and wanted to escape.

Security sources said the combined efforts by the special squad of the Commissioner of Police, named Prompt Response Unit (PRU), and the hunters, under the aegis of The Hunters Group of Nigeria, engaged the gunmen.

“The police ordered them to surrender their weapons but they refused and started attacking the operatives. In the process, three of them were killed, while others escaped. We recovered pump action and other ammunition from the gunmen,” a source confided.

Osun Police spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the incident.

She said: “Three of the gunmen were killed but I will get back to you on the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Similarly, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Osun Command, Daniel Adigun, confirmed the incident.