Written by Shehu Abubakar
Thursday, 02 August 2007

fear of attacks said the Dutse-Alhaji factory where he worked was attacked as he and colleagues locked up on Saturday night.

After shooting his colleagues dead, the four armed men blew up part of the BEOFA table water and yoghurt factory where they worked, he said.

The man said: "As they entered the company, they opened the bag and brought out guns. One of them asked us of the owner of the company and his wife. We told them that they don’t live around. We do not know where they live. One of them started pouring the contents of the jerry can all over the place. That was when we knew it was petrol because we perceived the odour of petrol.

"The other brought out many bombs from the bag and put them at strategic places in the factory. I am sure they must be more than ten. Meanwhile, two of the attackers had placed us at gun point. When those ones finished, they started calling us one after the other shooting us with their gun. I was the last to be shot."

He gave the names of two of his colleagues that were killed by the attackers as Benjamin and Monday whose corpses have been deposited at a hospital in the FCT.

A police anti-bomb squad from the FCT command has recovered five expended dynamites and six yet-to-expended dynamites each weighting 2 kilogrammes from the scene of the explosion at plot M465, Cadestral Zone 07-05, Kubwa extension III Layout.

An eye-witness, Miss Funke Fabiye said four people in a car visited the factory. She said: "One of them alighted, went into the factory, came back to the car and was joined by three other people in the car that carried a heavy bag and a jerry can into the factory. After a while, we heard three gun shots followed by a very loud explosion."

The only survivor of the attack said they parked their vehicle outside and one of them went into the factory and said he wanted to buy pure water.

He said: "We were only 3 then in the factory. Two staff and a watchman. The man said he has forgotten something in the car. He went outside and came back with three other people. Two of them were carrying a heavy bag, one was carrying a jerry-can and the forth person was leading in front.

Miss Funke Fabiyi who was not far from the scene of the attack and the explosion when it took place said shortly after the loud explosion that shoot all the buildings around the area, she heard the sound of a vehicle that sped off.

"One of the corpses of the two guards killed by the gun men was buried by the collapsed building. It was the next day, Sunday when policemen and neighbours that gathered around the building saw the corpse buried by blocks," she said.

When Daily Trust visited the scene of the explosion, the building of the factory was destroyed and several other adjoining buildings cracked.

Policemen drafted from the FCT police command and led by Mr. Ade Shinaba a deputy commissioner of police in charge of operation cordoned the area preventing people from going near the building.

Mr. Shinaba confirmed the incident to Daily Trust and said the command has started investigations. He however refused to give further details.