The people of Kogi central senatorial districts living around the Inike
town were thrown into restlessness from the wee hours of Tuesday
morning, when men of the Nigerian Army besieged the town in the bid
reportedly geared towards fishing out the masterminds of the recent
attack on the Kogi dss office.
No fewer than 10 members of an Islamic sect and one soldier were killed
in the town from a resultant gun battle which reportedly lasted for
several hours during the invasion of the base of the fundamentalist in
the town.
The development was said to have led to pandemonium in the commercial
town as schools, shops, banks and other public offices were locked
throughout the day.
The members of the sect were said to have engaged the army in gun duel
during which 10 of them were shot dead, while a soldier was said to have
also been killed during the battle.
Tribune Online gathered that the men of the army had invaded a mosque
located at Inike in the heart of Okene following reports on the
activities of the sect.
Sources said the invasion of the area was a fall-out of the recent
attack carried out on the state headquarters of the Department of State
Services (DSS) by people suspected to be members of the sect.
Some of the people that carried out the attack were said to have escaped
with gunshot wounds following which the security agencies were said to
have beamed their searchlight.
The move was said to have led to the arrest of a suspected member of the
sect who was said to be a teacher in one of the private schools in
Okene.
The arrested member was said to have informed soldiers about the
whereabouts of other members that were receiving treatments over the
gunshot wounds.
It was further learnt that upon the arrest of the member where he was
being treated, he confessed to be a member of the group following which
he took them to their hideout around 1.00 a.m. where weapons including
AK-47 rifles were allegedly found.
However, a visit to the mosque being used by the sect in the midnight
showed that it was deserted following which the military men were said
to have laid ambush for them till about 5.00 a.m.
It was, however, gathered that the members of the sect had got wind of
the development and also attacked the men of the army, who immediately
opened fire on them.
The mosque which was being used by the members of the sect was said to
have been razed down by the soldiers, who were still at the area as of
press time.
Confirming the incident, the Commissioner of Police, Kogi State command,
Emmanuel Ojukwu, said the command could not speak on the development as
it was a military operation.
He however said the operation was on-going, adding that the military
would be in the best position to give a detailed information about the
operation.
kudos;-ebirareporters.blogspot.com
