A gang of armed robbers on Wednesday evening shot dead a trader, Dayo Bankole, dead at a popular phone market knowns as Computer Village in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
The gunmen, numbering about ten were said to have stormed the market located around Ibara round 6.20pm.
On getting to the market, the dare-devil gang reportedly was shooting to scare people away before they started looting and carting away their wares.
Some of those that witnessed the incident, however, alleged that the gunmen were cultists that chased a member of a rival cult group to the market.
Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer for the Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said it was a case of armed robbery.
In a statement, Oyeyemi, who disclosed that the police men were able to repel the armed robbery gang and arrested one of them, said: “The armed robbery gang stormed the market in the evening and started shooting sporadically and creating fear and stealing expensive phones.
“After a distress call was made to the police at Ibara division, the divisional head, Abayomi Adeniji, sent officers to the scene in collaboration with operatives of the Amotekun Corps to the scene.
“On sighting the contigent, the robbers engaged them in a gun battle. “But due to the superior fire power of the policemen, the hoodlums took to their heels.
“Unfortunately, one Dayo Bankole, a trader in the market, who was shot by the robbers, gave up the ghost while receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Ijaye Abeokuta. One double-barrelled local gun and assorted charms were recovered from the arrested suspect.”
Oyeyemi said the state Commissioner of Police, Frank Mba, had directed the transfer of the suspect to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligent Department, CIID, for investigation.
