Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen on Thursday killed two members of local vigilance group in Okpanam, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State.

The incident led to chaos in the area as youths of the community in protest, blocked the busy Benin-Asaba-Onitsha expressway, disrupting traffic and other economic activities for several hours. The protesting youths, who vowed to retaliate the death of their colleagues, were later dispersed by security operatives before normal socio-economic activities were restored.

The deceased vigilantes and others had stormed the bushes in search of a kidnapped woman and her daughter, when they were intercepted by gun wielding men suspected to be herdsmen. A local source claimed that there was exchange of fire between the herdsmen and the local security operatives, who just alighted from a vehicle. He, however, said that the herdsmen who were better positioned for war had the upper hand.

The source said that the local security operatives were caught unawares as the hoodlums aimed directly at them, spraying them with bullets, which killed two of them, with another shot in the leg.

According to the source, one of the dead victims simply identified as Emeka, was one of the leaders of the vigilance group in Okpanam.

Police public relations officer in the state, Onome Onovwakpoyeya, confirmed the incident. She said that the two vigilantes, who were unarmed, were chased and shot dead by suspected hoodlums. While disclosing that the whereabouts of the kidnapped victims was still unknown, she said the killers are still at large.

“The vigilantes were in search of a woman and her daughter, who were abducted earlier by the suspected kidnappers,” she confirmed. (Daily Sun)

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