Gunmen suspected to be bandits attacked travelers in Ofeapo, along the Idrisu-Bagana Road in Omala County, Kogi State.
Four people were killed in Thursday’s attack and two others were injured in varying degrees.
According to Within Nigeria, the victims, who were returning from the troubled Bagana market around 8.30pm on Thursday, were ambushed and killed by suspected bandits.
The victims, who were mostly traders, were traveling in a tricycle, popularly known as a keke napep, when gunmen opened fire on them at close range, killing four instantly and injuring two others.
The spokesman for the Kogi State Police Command, SP. William Aya confirmed the incident.
However, he said one person, the tricycle rider, was killed while two others were injured and taken to medical facilities in Abejukolo, Omala LGA’s headquarters.
He said Police Commissioner CP Edward Egbuka had mobilized a tactical squad and division officers to the scene to potentially fish out the perpetrators.
According to locals, those killed are two men and two women who are from Bagana but were forced to move to Abeyukolo after the killings in the communities.
Locals lamented the killings, saying it was one too many for a community that has been under siege for more than a decade.
Residents condemned the barbaric actions of the attackers, who shot dead Ms. Zainabu Abdullahi in front of her six-month-old baby and severed the head of another victim.
They urged Governor Bello to take charge of security architecture in the community as the efforts of his local government officials failed to stop the slaughter.
