FOUR officials of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (NDLEA) in Ondo State, who were on patrol, have been reportedly shot dead on Sunday evening, by two unknown gunmen.
According to an eye witness, four of the five officials were shot at close range and died on the spot after the two gunmen who were on a motorcycle opened fire on them.
He stated that the NDLEA men were on a normal checkpoint at Sobe/Ifon highway in Ose Local Government Area of the state when the incident happened.
He explained that the gunmen who concealed their guns in their clothes, brought out their AK-47 immediately they stopped at the checkpoint, spraying the NDLEA officials, shooting sporadically into the air to scare away other passer-byes.
The source said the drug enforcement agents were caught unaware but said one of the officials was lucky to escape unhurt.
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He, however, said the two gunmen packed the operational guns of the officials and set their patrol vehicle on fire before leaving the scene and leaving the bodies of the men on the main road.
Confirming the development, the State Commandant of the NDLEA in the state, Mr Haruna Dagara, described the killing of the NDLEA men as unfortunate.
He confirmed that five of the men were on official duty while the gunmen stopped at checkpoint and killed four of the men in the attack.
He listed the affected officials killed in the attack to include; Abduljalad Mohammed (Asn ll), Wellington Emmanuel (SNA), Magaji Aliu (CAN) and Mohammed lliyasu.
The NDLEA boss said the killing was planned and hatched by the hoodlums, saying the attack was an intentional killing to discourage the war against drug in the area.
Dagara, however, traced the attack to drug syndicate who deals with Indian hemp in the area saying men of their agency have been curbing the activities of the syndicate, and said investigations are ongoing to unravel those behind the killing and bring the perpetrators to book.
Dagara further confirmed that the hoodlums escaped with rifle of the four men while the operational vehicle of the command was also set on fire, while the remains of the officials had been deposited in the morgue.
He assured that the men would be brought to book while the agency would not relent in flushing criminals and drug peddlers from the area.
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