A suspected cable thief has been killed after hoodlums vandalised power cables at the Dangote Refinery in the Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that about 20 hoodlums invaded the premises of the refinery through the lagoon and were vandalising the power cables when security operatives guarding the refinery spotted them.
Upon realising that they had been discovered, the hoodlums fled the scene.
But the operatives, who gave them a hot chase, released bullets to neutralise the invaders.
One of the suspects was said to have been struck down, while others escaped.
As of the time of filing this report, it was not clear if the hoodlums escaped with the vandalised cables.
Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said one of the hoodlums, who suffered gunshot wounds, died while being rushed to a hospital for treatment.
He noted that the police command had reinforced security operations to avert further attacks on facilities at the refinery and its environs.
Hundeyin said, “The hoodlums were about 20 and that place is next to the lagoon area, so they approached from the lagoon. A joint team of security operatives sighted them; they took to their heels when they saw that they had been discovered. They were there to steal armoured cables and were caught vandalising the cables.
“But there was a hot pursuit and there was shooting. One of them was hit by a bullet, but others escaped. The one that was hit was being taken to a hospital when he died on the way. The security around that place has been fortified. The incident happened around 11.30am.”
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