Idris Ahmed, Lokoja.
A first class traditional ruler in Kogi state, the Ohi of Adavi, H.R.H, Alhaji Muhammad Ireyi Bello, narrowly escaped death when the vehicle in which he was traveling ran into an ambush laid by dare devil armed robbers.
The attackers who struck on Tuesday afternoon at Magajiya village, near Banda in Lokoja local government area of Kogi state, wounded scores of people and dispossessed the travellers of money worth thousands of naira.
Speaking on his lucky escape, the Ohi of Adavi who was returning from the 3rd day firdau prayers held in Abuja for late Hon. Suleiman Kokori, the deceased member of the Revenue Mobilisation and physical commission, said that he and other occupants of his S.U.V car were ambushed, as the car slowed down to pass through a bad portion of the road, some heavily armed men in black attire suddenly jumped from the bush into the road and opened fire on his car from various directions.
The Royal father explained that it was the sheer courage of his driver who miraculously manoeuvred the car through the rain of bullets without any of the occupants sustaining injury but a minor damage to the car.
While thanking God for his narrow escape, the traditional ruler attributed the spike in banditry and armed robbery attacks on our highways to the recent scrapping of SARS by the Federal government without providing alternative, saying, “you don’t scrap a whole system because of little defects, especially where there is no immediate substitute”.
The Ohi who believes the nation has been unfair to the Nigerian police by the wholesale condemnation of the institution, appealed to the Federal government to put a substitute in place as quickly as possible and also take steps to rebuild the morale and confidence of the force.
While commending Governor Yahaya Bello for being proactive in tackling security issues, the Ohi attributed the recent cases of banditry operations in the state to the non sedentary nature of the bandits.
He then appealed to the governor to apply the method used in checking armed robbery operations on Okene-Lokoja highway to Lokoja-Abaji road, just as he also appealed to the Federal government to complement the efforts of Kogi state government in tackling insecurity on the highways.
