Gunshots as man attacks prison official, goes berserk

There were gunshots in OkeKura area of Ilọrin, Kwara State capital, yesterday when a yetto-be identified man attacked a staff of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS).

The incident, it was gathered, which occurred at about 8am, caused panic and anxiety as residents of the area scampered for safety.

Daily Trust Saturday reliably gathered that the man, believed to be mentally unstable, was coming from Ode Sarumi heading to Oja-Oba when he attacked a prison official simply identified as Kenny with a knife.

The victim was left with several deep cuts on his head and arms.

The attacker, wearing a yellow hoodie, also destroyed several windscreens of tricycles and other vehicles with a heavy stone he was holding in his other hand.

The windscreen of a prison vehicle used to convey inmates to the court, which double-crossed him at the main road to prevent him from entering the market, was also shattered in the process.

The victim, who spoke to our correspondent where he was admitted at the Balogun Hospital Surulere, said he accosted the man to prevent a major disaster at the expense of his life.

“If I hadn’t accosted him, he would have attacked people with the knife and the number of casualties can only be imagined if he had entered the market. I shot in the air but he was not moved but I was determined to stop him even at the expense of my life as the Service taught us,” he said.

Several calls and text message to the Police Public Relations Officer, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi (DSP), on the incident were not answered or replied before the filing of this report.