Gunmen attaack Ceramic workers in Kogi, kill Indian, two police, drivers

At least five persons died after gunmen attacked workers of Royal West Africa Ceramics Company in Ajaokuta on Friday.

The police in a statement said the attack took place at about 8pm.

One Indian expatriate, two police inspectors and two company drivers were said to have died in the attack.

The police said the inspectors died “in the exchange of fire with the hoodlums, before the Area Commander and a detachment of Military in the area reinforced to the scene of incident, and the attackers fled.

“The CP assures that the Command is committed to working in synergy with other security agencies as well as patriotic stakeholders to make the State a safe and secure place for all and sundry.

“He has further tasked the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) to commence investigations into the unfortunate incident so as to unravel the remote and immediate cause of the attack with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book.”\

Meanwhile, the Kogi State Government, while reacting to the attack, described the killing as unfortunate.

In a statement issued by the State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo, the government said the police and other security agencies are currently combing the area to apprehend the perpetrators of the heinous act.

String of attacks

Last month, gunmen killed three policemen and five vigilantes in an ambush in the Ajaokuta area, prompting the Govenor Yahaya Bello to suspend a traditional ruler and question the district’s political administrator.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but Kogi has seen an uptick in violence in recent months.

In June, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) jihadists, operating outside their usual base in the northeast, bombed a police station in Kogi’s Okehi district, killing a policeman and razing the facility.

In April, three policemen were killed when gunmen attacked a police station in the town of Adavi.

Both attacks were claimed by ISWAP which split from Boko Haram in 2016 to become a dominant jihadist group in the region.

The group was responsible for a recent jailbreak outside the Nigerian capital Abuja, freeing hundreds of inmates, including 64 jihadist commanders.