Six INEC officials missing in Kogi

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BY SULE TAHIR.

No fewer than Six persons were allegedly feared missing when unknown gunmen attacked six Hummer buses carrying INEC officials in Kogi in the early hours of Sunday.

Reports from Kogi state has indicated  that the incident, which occurred around 2 a.m of March 19 at Abajana, left several officials with gun shot wounds including policemen and drivers.

The six missing persons include two serving NYSC corps members and four ex-corpers.

The injured persons are already on admission at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), now Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lokoja.

Salisu Ibrahim, one of the bus drivers, who was shot on his right leg, and recuperating at the hospital, told our reporter that the attackers took them by surprise.

“We were on our way back to Lokoja from Abujor RAC with the results of the House of Assembly election held there, when we were attacked by some people.

“All the six buses moving in a convoy were attacked and in the process many of us sustained injuries.

“Thank God, none of us died in the process but I learnt some corpers are missing during the attack on us this early morning,” Ibrahim narrated.

Dare Owofadaju, a youth corps member who was shot on his left thigh, said: “It is only God that kept us alive considering the way and manner the gunmen attacked us.”

Owofadaju said that the election was conducted peacefully and counting was completed, and “it was when we were returning to Lokoja that we were attacked at Abajana”.

“Thank God some security operatives came to our rescue and rushed those of us injured to this Federal University Teaching Hospital Lokoja for immediate treatment,” he narrated.

Impeaceble sources gathered that the Commander, Headquarters Command Army Records (CAR), Maj-Gen. Sunday Igbinomwanhia, Kogi INEC REC, Dr Hale Longpet, and the Kogi NYSC Coordinator, Mofoluwaso Williams, have visited the injured in the hospital.

The REC and the state NYSC coordinator declined to respond to enquiries on the incident.

But the spokesman for Kogi Police Command, SP Williams Ovye-Aya, confirmed the incident, saying that the police were on top of the situation.

“We are aware of the sad incident and preparing to issue a statement on the attack,” he said.

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