Policeman shot, two passengers killed in Kogi highway robbery

Gbenga Odogun, Lokoja

Two persons were killed by suspected armed robbers, while a police officer sustained gunshot injuries on the Okene-Lokoja Expressway on Saturday.

The incident occurred around 6pm in Osara, between Itakpe and the Kabba junction, and forced drivers to abandon their vehicles, while travellers were left stranded on the road.

An eyewitness told our correspondent on Sunday in Lokoja that the two persons, who lost their lives, were siblings of Ebira extraction, who were resident in Katsina State.

They were said to be on their way back to their station after visiting Okene when their vehicle was attacked at Osara, a few kilometres to Lokoja.

One of the travellers, who escaped the attack, said she got to her Lokoja residence in the early hours of Sunday.

The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that she boarded the vehicle from Lagos, where she had been since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, adding that they encountered heavy vehicular traffic between Berger in Lagos and Ibadan, Oyo State.

She added that the situation was further compounded after the attack as the vehicle in which they were travelling developed a mechanical fault.

The state police command, however, denied knowledge of the robbery as the Commissioner of Police, Ayuba Ede, said he had not been briefed.

“I will make enquiries from my men and I will get back to you if I have the information, but if you did not hear from me it means I have no information about it,” the CP told our correspondent on the telephone.

He had yet to get back to our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.  ,,

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