Akeredolu at the scene on Thursday
“I want to allay the fear of our people. Clearly, what happened here on Wednesday night was not an attempt to kidnap anybody because they went away with nobody. And we have in the premises over hundred people living there.
“Yes, there were sporadic gunshots at the wall but they never went inside to kill anybody. It is better for everybody to know. They didn’t go inside there to kill anybody. The only two people who had some gunshots were security men who they saw outside the premises.
“So, it is clear to us that their intention was to attack one or two equipment here, which they did. Their explosives affected the tyres and the windscreen of another vehicle.”
Above were the words of Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, following his visit on Thursday to the scene of Wednesday’s fresh attack by gunmen on Owo, his home town.
He added: “And we have close to 50 vehicles here. For us we are looking at it. We are not clear yet about their intention, but this is not one that should send unnecessary panic or fear into the minds of our people. This should not cause panic.
“For the contractors, Owo is a relatively safe place for them. So, they didn’t have armed people here. Maybe we will have to support them to have armed people here to protect all their equipment and vehicles.
“They have been here for over five years. They had the Ore bridge, they had other roads. So, they are doing so many things for us and they are doing well and we are ready to give them necessary protection.”
While reassuring the people of his administration’s commitment to the protection of lives and property, he said that the Wednesday night shooting was not anything near the June 5 attack in the town.
His words: “We will protect our people and their property. So, there should be no panic. Yes, there was shooting but it was not anything near what we had during June 5 attack at St Francis. This was not aimed to maim and kill. No.
“I believe our people will understand better to know the difference. So, there is no need for any panic, no need. We have given them all the assurance, we will get this place protected. I will continue to support them.
He was accompanied during his visit by the Heads of Security Agencies in the State including the Commander of the Amotekun Corps, Chief Tunji Adeleye; Commissioner for Infrastructure, Lands and Housing, Engr. Raimi Aminu; and the Special Adviser on Union Matters and Strategy, Mr. Dare Aragbaiye.
Earlier, the police had confirmed the attack while survivors, spoke of their ordeal on their hospital beds in Owo.
Two survivors of the attack, Rifum Lawrence, 50; and Abraham Opara, aged 45; who are relatives from River State, had reportedly escaped death by the whiskers by pretending they were dead during the attack.
As reported by The Nation, both survivors were in stable condition as of press time when the newspaper visited the Federal Medical Centre where they were rushed to for treatment.
According to the report, the motive behind the attack is yet to be ascertained as some policemen said the attackers were at the firm to kidnap expatriates while others said they were at the firm to steal explosives.
Some residents in the area, however, insisted that the attackers were terrorists who wanted to kill workers at the firm.
A soldier attached to expatriates at the firm was killed in May this year while a Lebanese was abducted.
It was gathered that casualty figures would have been high if the workers were outside at the time of the attack.
The heavy downpour of rain prevented many of the workers to be outside as the two security men were the only ones outside.
Chief Security Officer of the firm, Aladeselu Olatuboson, said the rain kept many of the workers indoors.
He said it was the spot where they used to eat that the gunmen shot the two security guards.
It was learnt that gunmen, after shooting the security guards started shooting sporadically before they exploded the dynamite.
A source said one of the gunmen stationed himself at broken perimeter fence, apparently waiting for the fleeing workers but they were indoors.
Checks showed that the heavy-duty trucks parked inside the premises stopped bullets from hitting the building where the workers hid.
The dynamite exploded at the tyre of one of the trucks.
One of the workers said he hid inside the toilet.
Lawrence said there were three gunmen and they shot at them instantly hitting him on the left and arm.
He said they pretended to be dead by laying still.
The gunmen were said to have operated for about 15 minutes.
Confirming the incident, the police spokeswoman in the state, SP Funmilayo Odunlami, in a statement titled “Police commence investigations into Craneburg Construction Company shooting incident as CP sues for calm,” said:
“The Ondo State Commissioner of Police, CP Oyeyemi Adesoye Oyediran has sued for calm while encouraging well-meaning residents of Ondo State to cooperate with the Police in the course of investigations into a shooting incident that happened at the Craneburg Construction Company site in Owo Town.
“The shooting incident occurred at about 10:00pm of Wednesday 27th July, 2022 and was promptly responded to by Officers covering the jurisdiction.
“At the scene, the officers met the duo of one Rifum Lawrence aged 50 years, and Abraham Opara aged 45 years old, with bullet wounds. They were immediately taken to the Federal Medical Centre in Owo where they were admitted and are currently in stable condition.
“The Commissioner of Police equally led investigative operatives and officers of the Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD) – Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high yield Explosives (CBRNE) also known as Anti Bomb Squad to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
“The Anti Bomb squad confirmed that an Improvised Explosive Device was used to burst a tractor tyre at the scene of crime.
“The Command urge the people of the state to be calm as the affected area has been cordoned and investigation has commenced to unravel the mystery behind the incident.
“In the same vein, the command is using this medium to warn those who do not know the real situation of things not to cause unnecessary panic within the state by peddling unconfirmed stories relating to the incident.”
Meanwhile the lawmaker representing Owo Constituency II in the Ondo State House of Assembly, Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole, has reportedly described the attack as barbaric.
He said the lawmakers would support any initiative that would boost security operations in the state.
Last month, terrorists attacked the St Francis Catholic Church, Owo and killed 40 persons while over 60 were injured.
