A group of smugglers and organized mobs, on Friday, allegedly attacked officers and men of Sector 3 security operatives conducting stop and search at a checkpoint along Saki — Ilesha Baruba axis of Kwara state.
This was contained in a press statement released on Saturday by the Public Relations Officer to the Coordinator of Joint Border Operations Drill Sector 3, Chado Zakari in Ilorin, the state capital.
The operatives narrated that the uneventful incident occurred after a red Volkswagen Golf Vehicle with Registration No BDG 453 BH flagged down by the operatives refused to stop for which was later apprehended after a pursuit and moved back to the checkpoint for examination, wherein bags of foreign parboiled Rice were found loaded in the vehicle.
According to the report, the driver which later abandon the vehicle and fled the scene only to mobilize a large mob of organized smugglers and errant youths armed with sticks, stones and locally made weapons to attack the operatives and ransack the checkpoint
The smugglers with the combined effort of some errant youth in the area destroyed and set the checkpoint and all operational items and property of the operatives ablaze as the operatives pulled back from the checkpoint with the seized vehicle.
The operatives also reported that a personnel of the NPF sustained a degree of injuries during the attack and was evacuated for medical attention, but the Officer is now in stable condition.
“The team leaders in Ilesha Baruba immediately notified the Emir of Ilesha Baruba, the DPO and other resident operatives who attempted to contain the mob all to no avail. Reports indicate that the mob attempted to lynch the Emir, who had to be evacuated from the scene.”
After destroying the first checkpoint, the statement added, “The mob at about 2300 hours gathered more support in large numbers mostly from organized smugglers from other locations and mobilized to attack and destroy other operational checkpoints in the area, while a section of the mob also proceeded on foot and in vehicles to the major Operational Base in Ilesha Baruba where arms and ammunition, vehicles, seizures and other operational items are kept. “
In a bid to deter the attack and protect the Operational Base, the operatives said it had to fire warning shots to prevent the organized mob from overrunning the base.
Meanwhile, at the time of incident, information have reached the Sector 3 team leaders at Ilesha Baruba that 3 persons from the mob have lost their lives in the attack, when their vehicle reportedly somersaulted when fired upon as they attempted to overrun the checkpoint.
“The Sector HQ also immediately mobilized 4 X reinforcement teams from Okuta, Alapa, Ilorin and Nigerian Army 244 Recce Battalion in Saki to ensure that the Operational Base is held and operatives are protected. The situation was eventually brought under control at about 0400 hours as a result of the reinforcement teams and subsequent show of force. The corpses of the 3 casualties from the mob were taken by the DPO under escort of own operatives and deposited at Baptist Hospital Saki in line with directives from the resident NPF Area Commander.”
The operatives said in order to caution recurrence of such incident, it held a meeting with the Emir, traditional heads, resident security agencies, Youth leaders and other stakeholders to work out modalities to identify the perpetrators, sensitize the populace and ensure that law and order is maintained and normalcy restored.
The Emir also appealed to the operatives and all other stakeholders to exercise restraint while he called for calm by the populace for an amicable work environment to foster.
However, the coordinator of Joint Border Operations Drill sector 3 Compt, Olugboyega Peters called on parents, guardians, community leaders, Religious leaders and opinion-molders to caution their wards on the dangers of towing the path of extreme illegality and anarchy. The Sector will do everything humanly possible within the ambit of the law to protect government properties and ensure that peace prevail against all odds. It is important to reiterate that operatives are only implementers of Federal Government Policies in the overall interest of national growth and development.
The operatives thereby warned that the hostility by hoodlums and their accomplices will never be a distraction in discharging its statutory responsibilities.