By Adeleke Adesanya
No fewer than two people were killed when some armed robbers attacked a filling station, Sosa Oil, at Ishashi, Akute, area of Ogun State.
The incident, which was reported at Ajuwon Police Division, occurred at about 2:00am on Tuesday, when the security man guarding the fuel station and a street vigilante operative tried to foil the attempt to cart away some of the motorcycles parked at the filling station over the night.
Narrating the incident to our correspondent, a commercial motorcyclist, Henry, whose friend fell victim to the incident, disclosed that no fewer than 30 bikes are usually parked at the fuel station by the owners every night, who pay the owner and the security man a certain amount.
This, according to him, has been what many of the bike men do, especially those who do not have permanent abodes at night.
Tragedy, however struck on Tuesday night, when the armed robbers laid siege to the filling station, killed the security men and took away no fewer than 25 motorcycles.
According to him, “We have been parking in that filling station for over two years. We usually pay the owner and the security man, but what happened this morning was serious. My friend, Abdul, who just finished the payment of his Okada is a victim. He finished payment in October and his okada has been taken away, it is serious.”
Also narrating what transpired on Tuesday night, a resident, Lateef Ademola, said the robbers engaged the vigilante men in the area in a gun duel after the security man at the filling station sent.them a distress call. But one of the vigilante operatives was killed along with the filling station’s security man.
He said, “We woke up this morning with the sad news of the incident. The security man at Sosa filling station was killed with one vigilante man when attacked by the robbers. The armed robbers must have come because of the Okada, which they usually park at the filling station every night. At the end of the day, they overpowered the security men and took away some Okada and caused serious havoc to the people.”
Another resident, Alex Ajijola, who spoke on the incident, said the robbers made away with the motorcycles in a truck which they brought in the night.
He said the newly built road by the state governor aided the robbers’ free escape, adding that “no robber will try such when the road was bad.”
Asked if calls were put through to the police during the incident to foil the attack, Alex said he only noticed their presence at the filling station in the morning.
Meanwhile, workers of the filling station have kept mum on the matter, as they are not authorised to do so.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Omolola Odutola, could not be reached as of press time, as calls made to her phone did not go through.