Police lay siege on Okene town in misdirected reprisal

By Ismail M. Kabir

A police detachment from the Okene division was yesterday attacked by unidentified gunmen leaving one policemen dead.

The attack took place at about 2:00PM around the Queens of Apostle College along the Okene - Auchi road.

Eye witness accounts held that the police officer were escorting a newly promoted officer to his new station when their van broke down around the Ozohu area of Okene township.

As the officers awaited repair of the faulty vehicle, three gunmen riding on a motorbike opened fire on the policemen killing one officer on the spot as others scampered for safety.

Stunned by the unprovoked attack, youths from the area reportedly gave the attackers a hot chase to the nearby school premises, hauling rocks and other dangerous misiles on the fleeing gunmen till two of them were overwhelmed, disarmed and handed over to the police.

EbiraView gathered that the two apprehended gunmen turned out to be strangers; one from Benin in Edo state and another a yoruba man.

As residents awaited police investigation into the attack, the community was taken by surprise as trigger happy policemen laid siege on the entire Okene town this afternoon.

Banks operating in the town were reportedly ordered closed by the rampaging policemen who were shooting sporadically as people ran for dear lives.

The police reportedly descended on anybody on sight including shop owners, Okada riders, market women and passersby leading to a total shutdown of commercial activity with heavy traffic gridlock across Okene township.

Hundreds of motorists were stranded as gunshots echoed endlessly through the town forcing many to disembark from their vehicles and ran for cover.

In a commando style, merchandise was thrown off, vehicles vandalised and many pedestrians beating to pulp by the police, in a puzzling display of unwarrabted brutality.

Residents of Idozumi, a commercial area of the town were tear gassed and chased out of sight by the brutal security agents.

Many people recounted their ordeal in the hands of the rampaging officers.

A popular local entertainer, Peter Michonza who was beaten to stupor for attempting to rescue his family from his office painted a horrible picture of the ugly scenario.

"I left my wife and baby in my office located just outside of the walls of the Okene Police station to carry out a transaction in the bank.

"Upon approaching UBA, I started hearing sporadic gunshots and I had tried to make a U-turn to no avail as the traffic grounded to a halt.

"As soon as I secured my car around GRA, I trekked through the police barracks to rescue my family from my office. As the policemen saw me approaching, they descended on me immediately without giving room for me to identify or explain my mission.

"One more officer joined in the beating until a senior officer who indetified me as a neighbour to the police station ordered the men off me". Peter said the policemen almost broke his eye until the intervention of the kind officer.

While filing this report, people in Okene were yet to come to terms with the cause of the brutality.

As people in the community picked the pieces of their losses, they are puzzled by the unwarranted reaction on the community that risked the lives of their youth to help apprehend armed culprits for the police.