Two corps members and others missing as gunmen attack INEC officials in Kogi
Six people, including two active members of the National Youth Service Corps and four former members of the corps, went missing when gunmen attacked six Hummer buses carrying Independent National Electoral Commission officials in Kogi State.
The incident, which occurred around 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 19, 2023, in Obajana, left several officials injured by gunshots, including police officers and drivers.
The wounded are already on admission to Federal Medical Center, now Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lokoja.
Salisu Ibrahim, one of the bus drivers, who was shot in the right leg and recovering in hospital, said IN that the assailants took them by surprise.
“We were on our way back to Lokoja from Abujor RAC with the results of the House of Assembly elections held there when we were attacked by some people. The six buses moving in a convoy were attacked and in the process many of us were injured,” he said.
State Police Command spokesman SP Williams Aya, who confirmed the attack in a statement, said 96 INEC personnel had been rescued.
According to him, the incident happened while the INEC team was traveling from the northern and southern quarters of Kupa to the assembly center in Lokoja constituency.
“The police escort attached to the team reacted vigorously and engaged the thugs in a fierce duel,” the PPRO said.
He noted that upon receiving a distress call, reinforcement teams were quickly mobilized and sent to the scene, which also engaged the attackers, noting that due to the superior firepower of the police, the attackers were forced to flee with varying degrees of injuries.
He said Kogi State Election Commissioner of Police, CP Yekini Ayoku led a rescue team to the scene for on-site assessment and then led the evacuation of the 96 rescued victims including officials. from INEC, ad hoc staff. , bus drivers and others to the INEC headquarters in Lokoja, while the three injured victims were evacuated to the Federal Medical Center in Lokoja for treatment.
The spokesman said that the Commissioner of Police had accordingly ordered the deployment of operational and tactical assets of the Force to undertake a thorough search of the general area with a view to apprehending the attackers and rescuing the two victims who were not had not yet been found.
“The CP has further instructed the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Criminal Investigations Department, to initiate a thorough investigation with a view to apprehending the wrongdoers and bringing them to deserved justice.
The Commissioner of Police, while commending the bravery displayed by the men of the Force, urged members of the public, especially nearby communities, to be on the lookout and report anyone seen with gunshot wounds to the training or to the nearest security agencies. He assured the public that the police would not rest on their laurels in tackling crime in the state,” Aya added.
