Pirates kill 4 in Ondo

Pirates  have struck in the coastal area of Ondo State killing four members of a private security outfit operating in the area while four others were injured. The pirates were said to have carried out the attack when the security men from Gallery Security attempted to disrupt their operations. It was gathered that three of the pirates were also gunned down by members of the security outfit and two of their bodies recovered from the water. The hoodlums, who came from Igbimo area of Edo State were said to be returning from an operation when they sighted the security men at...
Bolowo junction and opened fire, killing some of the men and wounding others. The Head of the Gallery Security, Osaghale Aklugbemen, told newsmen that the robbers escaped through Oroto-Ajapa Road. According to him, the pirates, who invaded the community at about 8 a.m. on Sunday, came from the Ilaje end of the coastal area of the state, where they had robbed some persons. He said his men made several attempts to resist the bandits but were overpowered as they fired  at their security men. Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Gallery Security Services, Chief Bibopere Ajube said the robbers had been terrorising the coastal area for the past two years. He stated that his men arrested some of the hoodlums last year and handed them over to  the Police in Ese-Odo, lamenting that the activities of the group had not reduced in spite of intense monitoring in the area. Ajube however, solicited government’s urgent approval of ammunition for the outfit to enable it adequately fight crime in the coastal area. Confirming the incident, the Police Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Wole Ogodo, gave the names of Gallery Security officials killed as Elemi Obilu, Alimi Zeblon, Idowu Ajaiba and Ofoetitan. He said divers were employed to recover the bodies of the dead, adding that six of the bodies had so far been recovered, while one was still being searched for under the water.