Gunmen at the early hours of Friday, stormed
the home of Mr. Denen Igbana, the Senior
Special Assistant, SSA, to Benue State Governor
on Security, and shot him dead in the presence
of his family.
This was just as an Army Corporal attached to
the Benue State Joint Security Patrol team code
named ‘Operation Zenda’, allegedly shot a year
two female student of Primary Education Studies
at the College of Education in Oju local
government area of the state.
Saturday Vanguard learned that Igbana, a retired
Police officer, was killed by a gang who waylaid
him in front of his house along Naka road, in the
outskirts of Makurdi town.
Narrating the incident to Governor Samuel Ortom
who paid a sympathy visit to the family of the
deceased, an eyewitness and Tax Collector in
the area, Thomas Ayakpam said the assailants
struck at about 1:32am
He explained that the SSA had come home only
to run into the assailants who were armed with
sophisticated weapons.
“They opened fire on his vehicle (a Toyota Hilux)
perforating the car on all sides.
“ Igbana ran out of the car, shouting and
heading towards my own house but they shot
him on his leg. He fell. At that point one of the
gunmen came closer to him and he started
shouting, ‘Gana so you can kill me, you want to
kill me, what did I do to you?”. He was then shot
severally and the people fled.”
In his response, Governor Ortom who could not
hold back tears said the deceased was one of
his trusted aides who played a vital role in
ensuring the success of the administration’s
amnesty programme. The Governor who charged
security operatives to apprehend the
masterminds of the killing said, “they have killed
part of me but I’m still alive and I will ensure
that anyone responsible for this dastardly killing
would be made to face justice.”
Meantime, Saturday Vanguard gathered from an
eyewitness that the female student of College of
Education in Oju was shot while sitting in front of
her residence at Lawani hostels, situated outside
the school campus.
According to the source, “the problem started
when one student of the institution was alleged
to have a long standing problem with a female
student and supposed girl friend of a soldier.
“For that reason, the soldier, Thursday afternoon
stormed the institution to whisk Anthony to the
‘Operation Zenda’ base in Oju, but fellow students
resisted the move. He was asked to get an
approval from the institution’s management
before taking the student away.
“At that point the angry soldier went away,
promising to come back. That evening the soldier
went back to the institution with some of his
colleagues to abduct the said Anthony but were
resisted by students in the institution who also
aided Anthony to escape.
“Vexed by the action of the students the soldier
opened fire with his riffle and the innocent girl
who was sitting by the door of her room got hit
at the side of her chest.
“She was rushed to Adoga hospital in Oju where
she was given two pints of blood because she
had lost so much blood and thereafter rushed to
the Benue State University Teaching Hospital,
BSUTH, for further treatment because the bullet
could not be extracted and her condition was
deteriorating.
“As I speak with you we cannot ascertain the
condition of the student but the Army Corporal
has been arrested by the Police in Oju and
transferred to the Command Headquarters in
Makurdi.”
Meanwhile, attempts to reach the Police Public
Relations Officer, PPRO, Assistant
Superintendent, ASP, Moses Yamu failed but a
top Police source who craved anonymity
confirmed that the matter was being investigated
while the Army Corporal was being interrogated.
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