Palpable fear has gripped the agrarian host community of the multi-billion Naira Okodu Oil Company Plc as three of its workers were killed by gunmen on Monday while working on their plantation in Benin City, Edo State.
The public relations officer of the company, Fidelis Olise, while confirming the incident on Tuesday, said that the killing was done by unknown person(s).
He stated that the company enjoys a cordial relationship with the communities in the area, noting that he could not say whether members of the host communities were involved in the attack or not.
He said that the incident has been reported the the Police and investigation was already ongoing.
He said, “I can confirm to you that three of our staff were killed by gunmen on Monday while they were working on our plantation.
“We enjoy cordial relationship with the communities around us and we cannot say whether members of the communities were involved. However, the matter has been reported to the Police and we hope justice will be done,” he stated.
The State’s Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, said that more men have been deployed by the Police Command to the area to forestall a repeat of the attack, saying that it was shocking that gunmen could carry out such attack.
He said that the attackers were from a neighbouring state, noting that efforts were on to arrest the culprits and bring them to book.
He also said that the Police were working with the management of Okomu Oil to perfect ways of making the environment safer for its staff at all times.
The CP said, “Preliminary findings showed that the gunmen came from the creek in a neighbouring state, which I would not like to mention. The attack is shocking.
“However, more men have been deployed to the area to forestall a repeat, while the Police in conjunction with Okomu is working to ensure that the culprits are arrested.
“We will not allow such an occurrence to happen in the state again,” the CP added.
