Suspected bandits on Saturday killed three police officers and five vigilantes in an ambush in Ajaokuta, Kogi state, multiple sources say.
The killings was uncovered when suspicious movements were reported at the Ajaokuta police station.
According to a witness, the locals had reported at the Divisional Police Headquarters that some people were using their farms for criminal activities. The DPO then deployed his men and some vigilantes with a view to repelling an impending attack.
The witness said that unknown to them, the hoodlums had laid ambush for the policemen and vigilante and that they opened fire on sighting them.
Kogi State Security Adviser, Commander Jerry Omadara (retd.) has since confirmed that three police officers and five vigilantes were killed in an ambush by bandits on Saturday.
He corroborated the story of the witness that the Divisional Police Officer, acting on an intelligence report that hoodlums had invaded a farm and were engaging in illegal activities, mobilised officers in collaboration with men of local vigilantes.
“They were, however, ambushed and in the process, eight of them were killed including three police officers and five members of the local vigilantes,” he said.
He, however, noted that the Kogi state government would not rest until the culprits were arrested.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
