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| Adekoya’s house. INSET: The smashed window, February 9, 2017 |
Three persons were killed and two injured early yesterday when gunmen invaded an estate in Isheri North of Lagos State and kidnapped the residents’ association’s secretary, Dr Dayo Adekoya.
Adekoya was snatched on Road 18, off Olusegun Tawoju Avenue after the gunmen broke into his house.
They scaled the electrified fence into the compound, smashed windows and walls when they could not break through his armoured door, to get him.
They came through the waterways, left their boats at the nearby creek and used a ladder to scale the fence.
They brought the victim out through his gate and attempted to use him to access others’ homes.
Their plan to kidnap more people was forestalled by security men and the police.
Those killed were two Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) members and a carpenter identified as Ibadan. Their bodies have been recovered.
The injured are in hospital.
It was gathered that the Nigerian Army deployed Phantom IV drone to survey the area and possibly locate the gunmen and their victim.
Lagos Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni, Commander 9th Brigade, Brig Gen. Elias Attu, Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Commander Olatunji Disu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) were at the scene for the on – spot – assessment.
A patrol van was stationed in front of Adekoya’s house, while many other police and military vehicles were seen at strategic locations.
According to Adekoya’s friend, who refused to be named, the kidnappers have contacted his family and demanded ransom.
He said: “They have already contacted the wife and told her to get ready. She was begging them to take things easy. I really don’t know how much they demanded. The wife and kids have left the house.
“The kidnappers interrogated the family before taking the victim away. They came very prepared. They used a ladder to scale the fence and when they couldn’t break the door, they smashed the window.
“They wanted to use him to kidnap more people but thankfully, policemen came and started blowing their siren. They shot sporadically and killed two OPC men who tried to prevent them. They also killed a carpenter and injured two others. The kidnappers took their time. I think they also succeeded because it’s a lonely neighbourhood. You can see that there are not many houses around.”
The police recovered expended and live AK47 bullets at the scene.
Owoseni said the gunmen came through the canal, adding: “The timely arrival of the police prevented them from getting more victims because they were using Adekoya to go to people’s houses.
“But we came in and we prevented them. They ran towards the swamp and as they were running, they were firing and the bullets hit some of the local guards.
“We have also made some progress in investigation when we were doing our stop-and-search. We are quite hopeful.
“The police have recovered the expended and unexpended AK47 bullets. For now, due to the porosity of the area, land owners should stop building homes near the canal until security agents put measures in place.”
