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BY IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY
Two soldiers and seven civilians were reportedly killed over land tussle in Obayantor Community, off Sapele Road, off Airport Road in Benin City.
A member of the outlawed youth group told our correspondent in Benin that he counted nine lifeless bodies, including that of two soldiers and seven civilians.
“Our community is currently under siege over land disputes as two soldiers and nine civilians have been killed as a result.
“Right now, more than two hundred soldiers have taken over our communities.
“More than a hundred people have escaped from the clash with bullets wounds with other communities in the neighbourhood abandoning their homes.
Those involved in the current clash are not immediately known as Obayantor community has been notorious for violent clashes over who superintendent over sales of lands.
The Brigade’s Public Relations Officer, Capt. Yemi Sokoya said that against some reports making the rounds, soldiers were not in the community because of reprisal, adding that the personnel of the brigade were guided by rules of engagement and code of conduct for internal security.
He further explained that the brigade got a report from the DSS about hoodlums disturbing the community, and of weapons been stocked up which “we found out that it was true, and as soon as we got there, some of the hoodlums engaged the troop.
“However, even if there was a communal issue before now, with what is happening in the country today, if you are a commander and you are told people are stockpiling weapons somewhere, you will go there and ensure that those weapons are seized, confisticated and those involved arrested.
“I think that is the right thing to do and that is exactly what the commander did.
“The issue of communal crisis is not part of why we went there. It was basically on the hint report that hoodlums in that community are stockpiling weapons and terrorising the community.
He disclosed that in the course of the operations, some weapons which include two AK-47 rifles, three English pump Action guns, one double barrel, 32 cartridges, five mobile phones and an ID card belonging to the state vigilante were recovered by the soldiers
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