At least six persons have been reported killed after gunmen  raided the Sabo area of Ondo town, Ondo State.

The incident which happened  on Wednesday, occurred while the state is still mourning the  gruesome killing of over 40 worshippers on Sunday, at St Francis Catholic Church, Owa-luwa Street, in Owo LGA.

Confirming the latest attack, the Sarkin Hausawa of Ondo, Alhaji Abdulsalam Yusuf, said the gunmen stormed the area on motorbikes around 12:30am and opened fire on innocent roadside petty traders.

“They came to our area (Sabo) on motorbikes and each was carrying three gunmen. All of a sudden, they started shooting people who were mostly suya and tea vendors.

“A J5 bus driver who was on transit and stopped to eat was the first victim. They killed a guardman and another shopkeeper who was trying to lock up his shop and run away from the assailants.

“They again gunned down two young men who were eating noodles at a mai shayi stall.  That makes five victims in Sabo alone. Again, they struck another area called Iba where they also shot dead another man”,  he added.

Yusuf said he informed the divisional police officer in the area who dispatched a police patrol team  to assess the situation and evacuate the corpses to the mortuary while survivors were taken to a hospital.  

Spokesperson of the State Police Command, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, dismissed the incident as a reprisal for Sunday’s attack on St Francis Catholic Church.

Odunlami  who confirmed the attack as a robbery incident said operatives of the command were already on the trail of the perpetrators.