‘Death toll in Kogi bandits attack rises to 25’

Chief Elias Atabor, the Leader of Agojeju-Odo community in Kogi, has urged the Federal Government to establish a military base in the Omala Local Government Area to checkmate bandits’ incessant attacks on the people.

Atabor made the plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja on Friday.

“We are so worried that the death toll keeps rising by the hour,” he said.

The community leader made the call when it was discovered that the death toll of Thursday’s attack on the Kogi community attack rose from 19 to 25.

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The figure included four children, while several persons were being hospitalised.

But retired Commodore Jerry Omodara, Special Adviser on Security to Gov. Usman Ododo, said the death toll had risen to 21, with more being discovered by the hour.

Atabor said: “We are pleading with the Federal Government to bring to our community a military base that will help us to checkmate the incessant attacks in our communities in Omala LGA.

“Thursday’s attack is the second in less than three months this year alone. The first was on Jan. 29 when four persons were killed by bandits.

“We cannot continue dying like fowls in our own community. Agojeju-Odo is our ancestral home and we have no other place to go besides it.

“Many of our people are still missing and we are still discovering more corpses. It’s painful and worrying.

“Government should come to our aid and save us before those bandits, who are sophisticatedly armed to wipe us out from this Earth.”

The leader said that the communities, Agojeju-Odo, Ajokpachi-Odo and Bagaji had become ghost towns with no economic activity going on due to the attacks.

According to him, their children can not have the desired education because virtually all the schools in those communities are closed down.

He expressed gratitude to Gov Usman Ododo and the security operatives for their immediate response by deploying personnel to the troubled communities.

Also, a community stakeholder, Mr Ademu Ibrahim, urged President Bola Tinubu and Gov. Ododo to assist the communities with some relief materials, having lost their farm produce to the bandits.

He described the attacks as “wicked and unacceptable”, considering the way and manners the bandits were killing the people.

Ibrahim said there had been a running battle between militia groups in parts of Benue and some bandits, which led to the onslaught on the quiet towns of Agojeju-Odo, Ajokpachi-Odo, Bagaji and environs.

According to him, the bandits have destroyed farm produce with ease in an attempt to draw the communities into the conflict.

NAN reports that 19 persons were killed and several others injured during Thursday’s broad daylight bandits attack on Agojeju-Odo community in Omala Local Government Area of Kogi. (NAN)