Gunmen attack Okomu Oil Palm Company
One Police officer and an unarmed private security driver attached to Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc., are in critical conditions following attack by gunmen who allegedly were on the company’s rubber plantation to steal wet rubber cup lumps.
The incident took place at the weekend while the victims were on their routine patrol in and around the premises of the company’s rubber plantation.
A witness disclosed that the policeman with the counter terrorism unit and the unarmed private security operative were on their daily patrol on Okomu Plantation to check on their colleagues when they were accosted by the armed men numbering about fifteen (15), who apparently came to steal wet rubber cup lumps from the plantation.
He added that as soon as the gunmen saw the security operative, they opened fire, and an attempt by the police officer to repel the armed men proved abortive as they were overpowered due to their large numbers.
Reports said that the police officer and the unarmed private security driver retreated to get reinforcement and on return to the scene, were ambushed by the gunmen who had strategically positioned themselves on the plantation, opening fire on them.
In the ensuing gunfire, the CTU officer and the unarmed private security driver sustained various degrees of injuries in the head and eye respectively while in their bullet ridden vehicle.
It took the efforts of the men of the Nigerian Military to repel the armed men who fled, leaving behind the wet rubber lumps they had collected which weighed 1,460kg.
Confirming the incident, the Communication Officer, Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc., Fidelis Olise, said the incessant attacks on the company by gunmen while trying to steal the company’s product was a threat to investments as no investor would put his money in an environment replete with such attacks.
He added that these attacks would propel the company to take further security measures to safeguard the company’s workforce and property.
It would be recalled that attacks on Okomu plantation by armed men have become an all-too-familiar feature with two security operatives killed following similar attacks last year by gunmen trying to steal the company’s product.
The company appealed to Government to beef up security in the area as it is becoming increasingly difficult for the workers to go about their duties without fear of being attacked by gunmen.
