Oyo – No fewer than four commercial motorcyclists and residents of the Omi Adio area of Ibadan, the Oyo State’s capital who were said to be chasing some fleeing armed robbers have been reportedly shot dead.
Our correspondent gathered that the incident happened on Friday after the hoodlums who raided some Point of Sales (PoS shops) were fleeing from the area.
The armed robbers were said to have invaded the Ladeowo area of Omi Adio which is at the outskirts of Ibadan on motorcycles.
They were said to have arrived in the area at around 7pm. and moved from one shop to another in search of PoS machines who they successfully robbed.
The hoodlums were said to have raided five PoS shops before some residents raised the alarm which forced the robbers to abandon the operation and fled the area
As they fled, residents and okada riders were reported to have pursued them and when they saw that the angry crowd was closing in on them, they were said to have opened fire on them and killed four persons.
Two residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity told journalists on Sunday that the robbers did not kill any of the PoS agents but those shot dead were some of the people who were chasing them as they fled the area.
They claimed that they called the police from the nearby police station but said no response came until the armed robbers left the area.
One of them siad, “Armed robbers came to our area on Friday and robbed PoS shops. They moved from shop to shop in search of PoS agents and the operation was successful.
“They had attacked five shops and some residents summoned courage and raised the alarm. The robbers fled on seeing this and some of the residents and commercial motorcyclists pursued them.
“They opened fire on those pursuing them and four of them were killed in the process.The police did not arrive until Saturday morning.”
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Adewale Osifeso, when contacted said the police were already investigating the case.
He said, “Investigations are ongoing. Updates would be provided accordingly.” (Punch)
