31st August, 2010
A gang of robbers on Monday killed three persons at Kpoibi village, near Seme Border, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
NAN reports that the robbers, who attacked some bureau de change operators in the area, pretended to be businessmen and tried to escape through Yekeme River in Owode Apa, Badagry West Local Council Development Area (LCDA).
NAN reports that the robbers, however, encountered stiff resistance from policemen and vigilantes in the area, sustaining bullet wounds in the process.
Mr Frank Mba, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Lagos State, however, told NAN that the robbery did not occur in Nigeria but in Kpoibi village in Benin Republic.
“The robbery occurred in Kpoibi village along the Benin Republic end of Seme Border. The robbers tried to escape through Yekeme River in Owode Apa before security men dislodged them.
“There was a stampede with some Beninoisse rushing to the Nigerian part of the border because they knew it was safer,†Mba said.
NAN gathered that one of the robbery victims was the owner of a Toyota Sequoia Jeep with registration number: CY 01 MUS, LAGOS.
He had used the vehicle to ward off the robbers, as they opened fire on him.
The vehicle has been taken to the Seme Police Station from Kankan Police Unit in Badagry West LCDA.
Mba said that the Commissioner of Police, Mr Marvel Akpoyibo, had already mobilised a special squad, which included officers of the marine police, to track down the robbers and repatriate them to Benin Republic to face the law.
He assured the people of the area’s security, urging them to go about their normal businesses.
Mr Joseph Bamgbose, the Chairman of Badagry West LCDA, told NAN that they received a warning that some robbers from Seme were on their way to Nigeria in the morning.
“When we got the alert, we informed the police who rose to the occasion, with the support of men of the National Civil Defence and Security Corps (NCDSC) and others, to combat the robbers,†he said.