How Gunmen Slaughtered 3 Policemen in Edo After Buying Them Drinks as FG Condemns Killing

How Gunmen Slaughtered 3 Policemen in Edo After Buying Them Drinks as FG Condemns Killing

by News Editor on Sep 25, 2017 | 0 Comments
Posted under: breaking news, Crime, Politics, Recent News

A staff of the Ogba Zoological Garden and Natural Park in Benin, Edo State, Helen Juchei, has related how three policemen were slaughtered by yet to be identified gunmen, after buying them beer.
The hoodlum who went away with the service rifles of the three policemen, also abducted the Director of the Zoo, Andy Ehanire
Ehanire is the younger brother to the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, and a former Senator and wife of a retired army General, Daisy Danjuma.
Juchei who was on duty on the fateful Sunday, said funseekers who witnessed the incident, confirmed that the assailants bought three bottles of Heineken beer for their victims before shooting them, after the policemen carelessly laid their gun on the ground to drink their beer.
“Yesterday after I finished my normal duty in the morning, people were just entering the Zoo. And at this time, my boss has not come. We usually come before our boss and when he eventually came at about 1 pm, it was now my turn to take over duty, I went to tell him that I was having a birthday party to attend and that was how he granted me the permission and I left for the birthday hoping to come back to assume duty later in the day.
“When I eventually came back at about 6 pm, I met three policemen lying dead on the ground. I was very shocked and what I saw after was people running for safety and the boss taken away.
“It was those whom we met at the scene that told us what happened.
“They said the kidnappers paid to enter the Zoo with a torn money which was rejected by the casher at the gate. When the money was rejected, one of them went back to get a better money to pay the entrance fee.
“At this time, their informant have already gained entrance into the Zoo​ as fun seeker. When the informant​ had finally studied the terrain, one of the informants decided to engage our director in conversation.
“Our boss started telling him his plans to put up a world tourism day. As one of them engaged my boss in a conversation, the other one went straight to the security personnel and asked him if they have not closed​ for the day and decided to order for drinks​ for the officers providing security for the Zoo.
“This was what those who were there told us. So they bought them Heineken and as they laid down their guns to drink, that was when the hoodlums opened fire on them and killed the three police officers.
“We have not heard any information about the whereabouts of our boss,” she narrated.
Another staff of the Zoo, Mr. Zontondji Emmanuel, narrated how the hoodlums shot the police officers.
“I was on duty, I resumed by 5:30 pm and as I came in, I went round to inspect the animals and the visitors on ground. And after having done that, I came back to the reception where the Executive Director was sitting down and there was another one sitting at this end. There were two policemen sitting by him. So I went outside to observe the outside.
“At the outside, I saw an Audi 80 Car parked and suddenly, I saw three men coming out with guns and one of them wearing a bullet proof vest and I thought that they were normal police who usually come here for normal security reasons.
“Suddenly, I saw them running into the Zoo premises which is very unusual and when they entered, they started shooting immediately. So, all of us outside started running for our dear lives. I was calling on people running to give us police numbers, nobody was ready to stop because they were all afraid.
“But at the time I watched from afar and I saw that the men were going out with my Director. They went into the Audi Car and zoomed away. I now came into the Zoo premises and I saw the three policemen who were supposed to be guarding the Director were lying dead on the ground. After that, the DPO now came to take the dead bodies away,” Emmanuel said.
When journalists visited the family house of the abducted Zoo Director in the GRA, the family members were yet to come to terms with the incident.
They said what they needed at the moment was prayers​ for the deceased cops and the safe release of the abducted Zoo Director.
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner of Police, Haliru Gwandu, has described the incidence as unfortunate and promised that all hands were already on deck to fish out the hoodlums.
Gwandu who spoke when he made an on-the-spot assessment visits to the Zoo, said the killers of the three police officers as militants.
“It was an unfortunate incident. We lost three of our personnel. This is the activities of the militants.
“They came and unfortunately killed our policemen, but we are on the trail of the hoodlums. We are able to recover the vehicles they used to perpetrate the act. We are using all the available means including the high tech to fish out the perpetrators.
“They cannot go scot free. Let me assure the general public in Edo State that we are on top of the situation and that they should go about their normal duty. All hands are on deck to ensure that the hoodlums are fished out,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described the attack as a big blow to ongoing efforts to lift the tourism sector in the country.
He said, ”The success or failure of a tourism destination depends largely on a safe and secure environment. Incidences such as the attack on the Ogba Zoo and Nature Park therefore negate the concept of tourism as well as government’s determination to develop our tourism industry as a tool for socio-economic development.
”The killing of the three policemen attached to the zoo to provide security for fun seekers, the abduction of the zoo boss and the trauma suffered by the visitors who witnessed the attack are saddening, condemnable and most unfortunate.”
Mohammed said the government will step up security in the entire tourist sites in the country in order to prevent a recurrence, while urging the abductors of Ehanire to quickly release him unharmed.
He also sent his condolences to the families of the policemen who were killed in the attack, and prayed that God will grant repose to their souls.