By Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin-City

It was black Tuesday, penultimate week, for men of the Nigeria Police and residents of Afuze in Owan East local government area of Edo State who had woken up expecting a daily routine devoid of tragedy.

•Slain Inspector Sadoh

A bloody attack on the police station in the town that day remains a mystery which security agencies would have to unravel.

Last July, four policemen were killed and burnt inside their patrol van by unknown persons at a road block located at Uzebba-Aviosi junction along Ifon Road, Sabongida-Ora in neigbhouring Owan West local government area.

Also on January 23, 2019, the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly candidate for Owan West, Mr Ohio Ezomo, was kidnapped while his orderly was killed.

Sunday Vanguard reliably gathered that some suspects have been arrested in connection with the penultimate Tuesday incident but the police are trying to separate criminals from the innocent among those arrested, hence the suspects are yet to be paraded.

Sporadic gunshots

But for Mrs Ruth Ifijeh, who had operated a shop directly opposite the Afuze Police Station for over ten years, she was closing for the day and eating dinner around 7.20 pm when she heard sporadic gunshots.

She immediately abandoned the food she was eating and scampered for safety.

According to her, in the process, she fell into a ditch but had to get up quickly and continued to run.

When the gunfire and smoke cleared, however, four policemen lay dead in the pool of their blood while the office of the Divisional Police Officer and the corridor, after being blown off, were littered with materials suspected to be Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

READ ALSO: SUGAR’S murder: Monarch exonerates Oyo House whip

The dead personnel were identified as the DPO, Mr. Tosimani Ojo (a Superintendent of Police), Sergeant Justina Aghomon (pregnant), Inspector Isaac Sadoh and Corporal Glory David.

The incident seemed to have been coordinated as there was a simultaneous attack on the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the town where a police patrol vehicle parked in the premises was blown off with explosive while another that did not detonate was found in the premises.

The attackers were said to have first visited the house of the late DPO and when they were told he was not at home, they went to the police station where they wreaked the havoc.

•A section of police station after attack

Security beef up

When Sunday Vanguard visited Afuze on Thursday, the police, army, Department of State Security (DSS) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were seen providing security.

It was gathered that hunters in the town and a vigilante group had also been mobilised to complement the efforts of security agencies.

Mrs Ifijeh narrated her experience: “I was closing for the day and having dinner facing my store and backing the main road and the police station when suddenly I heard gunshots. When I turned, I saw about four persons by the gate of the police station carrying guns. I immediately abandoned everything l was doing: My food, my phone, money and market, and started running.

“In fact, I thought the end had come because I am hypertensive. I fell into a ditch but I quickly got up and started running again. I don’t know where I got the strength from. I sustained injuries and by the time things came to normalcy and I came back, I could not see many of my belongings again. Although I cannot say whether it was the gunmen who came to ransack my store or other people, I later heard that they killed the DPO and others.

“I felt bad because the DPO was like a father to all of us here. He was nice and it is painful that they killed him this way. We have never had this kind of experience before. We only hear of attacks in banks.”

Sunday Vanguard gathered that the late DPO hailed from Osun State where his family lived and he had been in Afuze for less than one year.

‘Lion in police uniform’

We also visited the house of Inspector Sadoh along Alli Street where his second son, Louis, who just arrived from Lagos, demanded proper investigation and justice on the killings, describing his father as a lion in police uniform who believed in due process and the rule of law.

The son said, “My daddy was a lion in police uniform. He was one of the best policemen I have ever seen. He was brave, fearless and he was never afraid of duty; so he worked 24hours a day. I never saw him sit at home as a policeman. He was always in the field. He fought so many battles for this country many of which I am aware of. He had worked in different parts of the country. It is a pity that he died this way. I was expecting his retirement from service a few years from now.

“He was a fearless officer, a father that defended his country, his children and his family. He had been everything to us his children since we lost our mother four years ago. He combined the roles of a father and mother. Our last born is eight years old. We will miss the love our father showed to us.”

On if there was any premonition of death from his father on the fateful day, Loius said, “I called him around 10 am on the fateful day and he asked me to send some money to execute a project which we had been discussing and I did.

“Around noon, we spoke again and he said he was at work and there was nothing to suggest in his voice that anything untoward will happen.”

•Police Commissioner Danmallam (m) during a visit to the attacked station

The son said all the family wants is justice for their father.

“My dad believed in justice and fairness and the rule of law. So what the family wants the authorities to do is to actually bring the culprits to book. He investigated many cases like this and brought the culprits to book. He worked in almost all the 36 states of the federation.”

The Secretary of Owan East LGA, Mr. Godwin Imoudu, who also spoke to Sunday Vanguard, said the entire people of the LGA were mourning the tragedy, describing the late DPO as a quintessential police man who stood for peace and worked tirelessly towards the peaceful coexistence of the people of the area.

Imoudu recalled that Ojo was a member of the council’s Peace and Security Committee which “was very neutral during the just concluded elections and had called a meeting of all stakeholders and politicians,” a development he said ensured peaceful polls in the area.

The Commissioner of Police for Edo State, Mr Muhammed Danmallam, who visited the scene of the incident, said investigation would commence immediately.

Danmallam vowed that those responsible for the attack will be brought to book.

“Urgent steps will be taken to curb the increasing cases of criminality in Owan axis of the state. Attacks on officers and men of the Nigeria Police have become quite frequent in Owan. In July last year, four police officers were attacked at a check point in the area, killed and burnt inside their patrol Hilux van”, he added.

On his part, Governor Godwin Obaseki also visited the place where he condemned the attack and promised that the culprits will be arrested and made to face justice.

“We have not gotten to the level of lawlessness in Edo such that people can go to the extent of attacking police officers at their station. I have ordered the release of all the resources required to apprehend and bring the culprits face-to-face with justice,” he said.

“Our hearts are with the families of the deceased and we will stand by them in these difficult moments. I have ordered the immediate refurbishment of the police for policing to continue in Afuze and environs”.