Residents of Itamasa village in Ijofin, Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, were thrown into panic on Monday February 9, 2015, when suspected hoodlums attacked two petrol stations, injuring a 65-year-old night guard, Hungbeme Asogba, and customers at the stations.
The affected petrol stations are Exalt and Jokuns Petrol Stations.
Asogba, who suffered machete cuts on his face and several parts of his body, is now receiving treatment in a hospital in Benin Republic. He was not allowed to speak with our reporter, who visited him in company with other sympathisers last weekend.
Eyewitnesses said the hoodlums looted the petrol stations and carted away unspecified amount which was the proceed of the day’s sales.
The hoodlums were said to have been led by one Samuel, who claimed to be collecting unsubstantiated fee for an amorphous association in the council area.
Recalling the incident, the Manager of Jokuns Petrol Station, Mr Hunpevi Mathew, said the hoodlums who were armed with dangerous weapons swooped on the station and dispossessed customers and workers of money.
“We were selling fuel to customers around 6.30 pm, when some members of the gang stormed our station and demanded for the payment of an unsubstantiated levy for selling fuel to customers. When they noticed that I was not going to accede to their demands , one of them handed his phone to me and asked me to speak with their boss called Samuel, but insisted that I would not talk to anybody because I am not the owner of the station. The hoodlums then forcibly took away some jerry cans of fuel from customers.
“Again, the (hoodlums) returned in a Nissan car around 9pm same day, led by Samuel. They were armed with cutlass, axe and gun and they switched off our generator before unleashing terror on us. They hijacked a Ford bus from a customer and loaded it with fuel stored in several jerry cans and took away all the proceeds of the day’s sales. They also robbed many of our customers who were buying fuel at the time of the incident. We had to run for our dear lives.
‘’As a matter of fact, I trekked through the bush path to town, following which I contacted Ipokia Police Station for help. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the station immediately led his men to the scene and they searched everywhere for the missing bus that was stolen from our customers, all to no avail. It was much later that the bus was sighted in a particular place in the community, where it was abandoned by the hoodlums.”
The Baale of Itamasa, Chief Suru Poviwhede, explained that Samuel and his boys had been terrorising petrol stations owners in the community lately.He recalled the incident: ”Samuel has become the nemesis of petrol dealers in our community and beyond. On the day of the incident, I received information around 6 pm that he (Samuel), was planning to invade the community and attack some filling stations. I quickly informed the Ololo of Ijofin, Oba Moruf Awode, and the monarch asked me to inform one Titus Jide Oppressor, who Samuel claims to be his boss. When I spoke with Oppressor on the telephone, he said he was not willing to reprimand Samuel, because he was no longer under his authority. Oppressor added that he had warned Samuel to desist from harassing petrol station owners, all to no avail.
“About 9pm on the day, distraught residents, who fled from the scene, informed me that Samuel had led his boys to attack workers and injured a guard at Exalt Petrol Station. They even raided some customers who were buying fuel into their vehicles and kegs. They were said to have also robbed customers and fuel attendants of a lot of money before moving to another petrol station called Jokuns, located in the neighbourhood. They vandalised the station, dispossessed customers and workers of the station of money and wounded a night guard and several others before stealing a Ford bus with number plate, XC 961 FST, from a customer.
‘’It was the DPO of Ipokia Police Station that took the night guard that was attacked with cutlass by Samuel and his gang to a hospital, while a number of customers and residents that also sustained various degrees of injuries are now being treated in various hospitals in Ipokia and Benin Republic.”
It was gathered that Samuel is now at large, while nine members of his gang have been arrested and are now being held at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Eleweran, Abeokuta, alongside their operational vehicle allegedly stuffed with dangerous weapons and three motorcycles.
A source, who asked not to be named, explained that the residents of the community are yet to get over the shock of the attack.
She said: ”My brother , we have not overcome the shock which the attack by Samuel and his boys has left in us. We fear he might regroup his boys and unleash terror on this community because the residents actually played an important role in apprehending some members of his gang when they were trying to escape after the attack.”
Several attempts made by our correspondent to get Samuel’s response were futile as he did not respond.
A female voice, who answered his call on Tuesday, claiming to be his wife said: “I am Samuel’s wife. He is not around now, he forgot his phone at home. Please drop your identity and comments and he would call you back when he returns.”
Samuel did not revert to our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.
In a telephone conversation with our correspondent, Samuel’s lawyer, who simply identified himself as Barrister Jide, said his client was a concerned resident that was simply fighting against illegal sale of fuel to a ‘petrol smuggling syndicate’ in the community.
“As a concerned resident, my client (Samuel) was miffed by the fact that some petrol dealers have been using their stations to perpetrate illegal sale of fuel to trans-border petrol syndicate.
“He told me that he visited the two stations to prevent the nefarious transactions and that he was also wounded in the course of carrying out a ‘patriotic’ responsibility. He had lately written several petitions to various police formations and other law enforcement agencies without fruitful intervention. I have, however, advised him not to take laws in his own hands.”
Confirming the incident, the spokesman of Ogun Police Command, Mr Muyiwa Adejobi, explained that the command has arrested Samuel.
He said: “ The man called Samuel, has been terrorising the community lately. It will be recalled that he carried out similar attacks on petrol station operators in the community last year. He is fond of attacking people violently and running to the police to claim that he was attacked. This is what he has also done in this case by lying to the police that he had been attacked, whereas he was the one that led his boys to attack people who were carrying out their transactions at the petrol stations. He went to the two petrol stations and attacked the people there, including a night guard, who sustained injuries and has been taken to a hospital by the police.’’
The PPRO, however, said that the police could not jump into conclusion until the ongoing investigation is concluded.
“The DPO of Ipokia Police Station said he was surprised to find out that contrary to Samuel’s statement, he was the one that actually attacked the two petrol stations. However, we have also arrested nine members of his gang that participated in the attack and they are now being held at the SCID, Eleweran, Abeokuta, where further investigation is ongoing,” Adejobi added.
It will be recalled that Samuel was accused of complicity in the attack on Alpha Petrol Station, Ijofin on April 3, 2014, where a 70-year-old Pa Simeon Hunkokoe and his four sons who were the station’s attendants were attacked with cutlasses.
Samuel was said to have stormed the petrol station to demand for the sum of N50,000 as ‘settlement’. Samuel and his gang were said to have been angered by the posture of one of the attendants called Mathew Hunkokoe, who asked for time to get clearance from the owner of the station on the telephone, hence, the gang attacked Mathew and his three brothers with cutlasses and dangerous weapons, while their father, who rushed to the scene to rescue his son, was also severely brutalised.
