By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
The attackers took away three motorcycles and some FN rifles.
It was discovered that they destroyed the pump-action rifles seized from their victims.
Out of the three motorbikes carted away, two are Bajaj, and one is described as a TVS motorbike.
The two Bajaj motorcycles were earlier seized from the illegal miners, while the TVS bike belonged to a vigilante member, a source stated.
Another source stated: “The attackers are bandits, but it is clear that illegal miners and some herders who believed that they have axes to grind with the forest guards liaised with the bandits to instigate the attack at the Oloka village, some 30 minutes drive from Ikoyi Ile. They opened fire on the guards on duty and burnt down the place designated as a detention camp. There are reports that they also set one of their victims on fire.”
It was also gathered that the bandits took away two Bajaj motorcycles earlier seized from the illegal miners and one other motorcycle said to belong to a staff member of the park.
While giving further details on the identity of the victims, a source said that three of the victims were forest guards, while two were vigilante team members.
The sources, however, said that a combined team of security operatives, including the military, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the police is already on the trail of the bandits, while some of the forest guards have faced interrogation.
Meanwhile, Oluyole Local Government Area of the state has reviewed the bandits’ attacks on the NPS at Oloka community in Oriire, as well rolled out measures to prevent such attacks in the area.
The council boss, Akeem Olatunji, at a meeting which had in attendance traditional rulers, security agencies, community leaders and local government officials, reviewed the situation and agreed on proactive measures to safeguard communities within Oluyole Local Government Area.
According to him, the responsibility of local governments is to support the security architecture being driven by Governor Seyi Makinde.
“We cannot wait for an incident to occur before taking action. Our role is to complement the efforts of the governor by securing our local government against any form of invasion, and we are committed to doing everything humanly possible to secure the lives of our people in Oluyole Local Government Area,” he said.
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