Vandals ambush DSS, kill eight

Gunmen, believed to be oil pipeline vandals, have reportedly killed eight officials of Department of State Services (DSS), at Ishawo, Agric area of Ikorodu, Lagos State. 

The hoodlums opened fire on the DSS agents when the latter walked into their ambush about 11pm on Tuesday. This came barely two weeks after oil vandals attacked some policemen at the Owutu area of Ikorodu and killed four policemen.
They disappeared with the policemen’s bodies and AK47 rifles. In the Tuesday attack, the vandals also went away with the bodies of the DSS agents and their guns. It was learnt that, apart from those killed, the vandals also took others as hostages. However, the DSS could not be reached on the phone for comment on the attack. As at yesterday, 14 tankers, filled with fuel, were still on Isawo Road, Ikorodu.
The attack compelled the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni, to direct operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other divisions in Ikorodu to do everything within their power to protect their stations. According to a source, the DSS agents heard about a deal that was going and rushed to the area.
They intercepted 14 tankers filled petroleum product and arrested the drivers. They were taking the tankers away when the vandals, in bus, blocked their way and opened fire on them. The agents were taken unawares. Another source said: “None of them escaped.
The DSS agents were more than eight that went to Isawo Road. There is blood every.” A resident of the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “One of the drivers called the vandals on the phone, that they had been stopped by ‘policemen.’ The vandals went to the place where the tankers were parked and freed the drivers.” An eyewitness, who gave his name as Mr. Kolawole, who lives in the area, said: “When I was going home on Tuesday night, I saw Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and a team of military men driving towards Isawo Road, the scene of the incident.” “They shot sporadically.
Everyone was afraid of being hit by stray bullets. The gunmen carried the dead ‘policemen’ away. The gunshot lasted for about 20 minutes before it stopped. There was serious chaos in the community,” another resident said. Mr Akintunde Lamidi, 75, living in the area, said: “When the gunshots became too much, my family and I had to run to my son’s house at Igbogbo to spend the night. I just came back this morning because of my business in the community.”
A source in the Baale’s palace said: “We have written several petitions to the state government and the state police command about the activities of the vandals.
They use our roads as transit to the creek, where they siphon fuel. I believe it is only the military that can save us from the vandals.” The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Joe Offor, said no policeman was killed in the attack.
He said: “We have checked all our records at the various divisions in Ikorodu; no death of our officers was recorded there. We don’t know the identities of those killed by the vandals. One Sport Utility Vehicle and Toyota Hiace were recovered by the Owutu Police Division.”