By Murphy Aigbe, Yenagoa
There was palpable tension at the popular Swali Market in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital as two persons were reportedly killed on Tuesday as gunmen in Rambo style invaded the marker in broad daylight.
It was gathered that the incident which occurred at about 4pm threw the entire market populace into confusion as sellers and buyers ran for their dear lives.
The hoodlums were said to have operated with sophisticated weapons and other dangerous tools.
Sources at the scene said one of the victims who died on the spot was said to be carrying a large sum of money, said to be handed over to him by his brother to take to the bank.
Petty thieves in the area were also said to have used the confusion caused by the invasion to cart away items from shops in the market after the owners fled in the wake of the pandemonium.
It took the arrival of a team of policemen who came after a distress call to bring sanity to the biggest marker in state who promptly arrested sine of the suspects.
Asinim Buswat, Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa State Command, confirmed the incident in a statement in Yenagoa but said that “four gunmen with pistol attacked one Raymond Agada ‘m’ of Swali community”.
He said the hoodlums dispossessed the victim of the sum of N120,000 which he was going to deposit in a bank and shot him.
“Policemen were quickly dispatched to the scene and the victim was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.
“The culprits have been identified and efforts have been intensified to arrest them”, Butswat said.