A large number of gunmen were said to have had a field day on Monday when they stormed a mining site in Zango City in the outskirts of Lokoja, the Kogi State capital. They killed five persons, made up of three vigilante members and two staff, and abducted two Chinese citizens.
Locals said the unfortunate attack occurred in the evening at about 5 pm and lasted for about 45 minutes, when sounds of sporadic gunshots emanated from the hilly range behind Al Azhar International School. They said the suspected Fulani bandits were about 20, with many of them bearded.
It was gathered that while the audible gunshots from the mountain were unrelenting, people hurriedly closed their shops, and panic stricken locals abandoned their homes to take cover in other places considered safe.
After the gunshots eventually stopped, words quickly went round about details of the attack.
A hunter who preferred not to be named claimed to have participated in evacuating the corpses, identifying the deceased vigilantes simply as Abdulazeez, Tijani, and Yusuf. Ghory photos of their remains were sighted.
Abdul, a resident and shop owner in another part of Zango, said he heard sounds of the gunshots as he was in the neighbourhood to check a fried at the time of the assault.
“Initially, we did not know what was happening, and the gunshots were loud. I had to leave the area along with other people out of fear. This is very bad and worrisome in the state capital. We urge the government to step up security in the state.”
Efforts to reach the police including telephone calls and messages to the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, William Anya, did not yield result.
