Robbers kill 2 corps members, 3 others in Ogun • Kwara CAN harps on reviewing NYSC scheme

Robbers kill 2 corps members, 3 others in Ogun • Kwara CAN harps on reviewing NYSC scheme

Olayinka Olukoya and Biola Azeez
Thursday, 30 June 2011

ROBBERS, on Wednesday, struck at a branch of a first generation bank in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, killing two members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) during their operation.

Also, they attacked a petrol station in Papalanto area of the state and allegedly killed three persons.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that the bandits, numbering 18, arrived the bank at about 4.00 p.m in an unmarked Toyota Hummer bus and blew off the bank’s security door with dynamite.

The robbers were said to have shot sporadically into the air, leaving several people to scamper for safety, while some others were injured in the process. The bandits allegedly held members of staff and customers hostage for several minutes and later carted away millions of naira from the bank.

The identities of the victims could not be ascertained on Wednesday, but the Nigerian Tribune learnt that one of the deceased corps members was working at the bank, while the other came on a visit.

Those injured during the robbery were said to have been taken to a General Hospital, Itori, for medical attention. Efforts to confirm the incident from the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Muyiwa Adejobi, were unsuccessful, as his mobile line was not reachable.

Meanwhile, The Kwara State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on the Federal Government to review the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

The state chairman of CAN, Reverend James Folaranmi, who made the call in a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune in Ilorin, on Wednesday, said the review should be tailored towards ensuring safety of the corps members wherever they were posted.

He regretted the kidnapping and killing of corps members, describing the development as sad and unfortunate.

The cleric, who also condemned the spate of bomb blasts in some parts of the country, charged the security agencies to bring to book the perpetrators.

He decried the activities of Boko Haram and kidnapping of innocent Nigerians by some miscreants in the Niger Delta area, tracing the root of kidnapping, assassination and bomb blasts that have pervaded the country to activities of “enemies of progress who do not believe in the corporate existence of Nigeria but hiding under politics and religion to make life difficult for the citizenry.”

Folaranmi lamented that after Nigeria’s 50 years of independence, “Nigerians still live in fears because of a few people who are hell-bent on imposing their ideology on the majority of Nigeria, citizens.”

While urging Nigerians to have faith in the ability of President Goodluck Jonathan to transform the country and bring to an end the various violent crimes being perpetrated in some parts of the country, the cleric said what the president needed most to surmount the problem was cooperation of the citizens.