Gunmen Attack, Burn NASS Rice To Kogi Workers

Lokoja – The joy of the Kogi workers to celebrate the yuletide with 220 bags of rice donated to them by members of the  two chambers of the National Assembly was cut short as unidentified hoodlums vandalised, burnt and carted  away the bags,  from the warehouse in Lokoja, capital of Kogi State.

  The hoodlums, believed to be political thugs, numbering over 50, armed with dangerous weapons, stormed the Maigeri Palace area of Lokoja metropolis at about 9.30pm, went straight to the warehouse where the rice were kept; shot sporadically into the air while using sharp knives and axe to rip open the bags, set it ablaze even as they carted away the remaining bags.

  The INDEPENDENT gathered that immediately the rice were handed over to the leadership of the Labour Unions in the state, news of it went viral as it coincided with the state government’s sharing of confluence rice to its supporters.

  Speaking to Sunday INDEPENDENT, the state Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress  (NLC), Comrade Onuh Edoka lamented the wanton destruction done to the rice by the hoodlums

  According to him, “I have called the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ali Janga repeatedly without response. We wanted to make formal complaints to him over the incidence, even text messages to his cellphone was not responded to.

“We will meet immediately the yuletide is over to take a position on the matter. However, we called on the police and other security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of this evil act against the suffering workers of the state, ” he said.

All efforts to speak to the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Williams Aya, proved abortive as calls to his cellphone was not responding as at the time of filing this report.