Hoodlums Injure Soldier, 2 Firemen As Fire Guts Fuel Station In Kwara

A soldier and two personnel of the Kwara State Fire Service were on Tuesday attacked and injured by hoodlums while carrying out a rescue operation at a filling station gutted by fire in Ilorin, the state capital.

Soldiers and men of the State Fire Dervice were drafted to K&R Filling Station, Oke Agodi area in Ilorin metropolis, to put off the raging fire that gutted the facility at about 9.30pm.

But, the hoodlums for unknown reasons started throwing stones at the soldiers and fire service men and in the process wounded a soldier and two firemen.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the soldiers eventually restored normalcy in the area while the firemen were also able to put off the fire.

However, two vehicles and two offices were consumed by the fire before it was put out by the firemen.

An estimated N21.7m property was lost to the fire incident while the estimated property saved from the inferno was put at N48.4million

The spokesman of Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, in a statement on Wednesday, confirmed the fire outbreak and the attack on the soldiers and firemen.

The statement reads: “Yesterday, Tuesday 6th of December 2022, some hoodlums at Oke-Agodi Alfa Yahaya Area of Ilorin attacked men of the Kwara State Fire Service and seriously injured two fire officers. The terrible incident took place in a fire outbreak that occurred at K&R Petroleum Nigeria Limited .One of the Nigerian Army team that came to calm the situation was also hit at head by the throwing stones. In fact, the soldier man was soaked with blood.

“Therefore, the director, Kwara State Fire Service, Prince Falade John Olumuyiwa expressed sadness over the incident and described the people of Agodi area as very ungrateful for not appreciating the firemen’s efforts.”