Residents fret as bandits kill 10 in Edo

Residents of Auchi, Edo State are now living in fear following the attack on the city by gunmen on Monday.

Streets in the city remained deserted on Tuesday, just as a contingent of soldiers blocked the entry and exit routes, causing heavy vehicular traffic on the Benin-Okenne-Abuja road.

This came as the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Pius Odubu, accompanied by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere; the Majority Leader of the state House of Assembly, Philip Shaibu; acting Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Hurdi; representative of the Brigade Commander, 4 Mechanised Brigade, and the Director, State Security Service, Tukur Bakori, later visited the affected areas.

The gunmen, who stormed the city, attacking banks, and other public places with explosive devices, our correspondent gathered, killed 10 persons during the raid.

 At the palace of the Otaru of Auchi, Alhaji Haliru Momoh, Odubu called on the Inspector-General of Police to reinforce police presence and equipment in the area.

He said, “We have seen things for ourselves; we have seen the damage done to the divisional police headquarters and the Area Commander’s office and four banks. It is clear that these people came with one intention, to wreak maximum havoc; they were armed robbers who were very blood thirsty and sadistic in approach.

“We want to assure you sir that the government of Edo State will spare no efforts in ensuring that these people are traced, arrested and charged to court. On our part, we will do everything humanly possible to assist the security agencies to do a good job at that.”

Hurdi however ruled out that the attack was the handiwork of terrorists.

He said, “I have visited all the places and the extent of the damage is what matters. The Area Command and other banks were affected. These places were destroyed by the dynamite they threw, but in terms of loss, it was only one bank that they were able to gain access into. That is where some amount of money, which has yet to be ascertained, was lost.

“We are yet to determine the number of persons that died at the moment. As far as we are concerned, for now it is robbery and nothing more than that.”

Meanwhile, some of the eyewitnesses said they counted 10 bodies along Igarra and Jattu roads.

Some of the injured, including one 16-year-old Khadijat, were rushed to the Auchi Central Hospital.

Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Jude Omoregie, said Khadijat had two pellets in her body.

Narrating her experience, the teenager said, “I was on a commercial motorcycle near First Bank when we saw one of the assailants. I greeted him, ‘good evening’, and he shot at us. The motorcyclist died and I was rushed here.”

Omoregie also confirmed that three soldiers were brought in dead to the hospital.

The incident, which was said to have lasted for three hours, saw people fleeing in different directions.