Hoodlums who were looting valuables at the scene of a fire incident in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital have reportedly attacked men of the Oyo State Fire Service.
Maroof Akinwande, the Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Service noted in statement released in Ibadan on Monday that the occurrence came up at Atari-Agbon in the Oki area of Olodo, Lagelu Local Government Area of the state.
“The firefighters, led by ACFS Bamidele Samsudeen, were promptly mobilised and deployed to the scene of the incident. Upon arrival, it was a MACK trailer tanker with registration number KSH329XA, loaded with 45,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, that had swerved and crossed the open road, hindering vehicular movement.
“Our officers got to work immediately by applying chemical foam compound with the aid of other preventive equipment so as to prevent an explosion.
“The operation was professionally carried out successfully, but it was during the process of packing up our equipment that looters started attacking the firemen with dangerous weapons such as broken bottles, stones, cutlasses and others. The firefighters sustained varying degrees of injuries, while one was left with a serious head injury.
“It took us almost an hour before we could rescue him from the scene of the incident due to the activities of the suspected looters and hoodlums, which were chaotic.
“The first hospital we took him to said they would not be able to attend to him because the hooligans could invade the hospital and vandalise its facilities.
“He has been moved to another hospital and he is responding to treatment. The ugly incident has been reported at Iyana Ofa Police Station and some arrests have been made for prosecution. The investigation is ongoing to ensure more arrests are made.”
