The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has said that two of its officials were killed Sunday night by gunmen who attacked the Koton Karfe prison.

Briefing journalists in Lokoja yesterday, the FRSC state sector commander, Mr Godwin Omiko, said Olaoluwa Adebayo and Adesina Iyanda, both from Kwara State, were shot by the same gunmen that attacked the prison on Sunday night and set 144 inmates free.

He said the slain marshals were among the six personnel of the commission on night duty at the FRSC office in Koton Karfe on the day of the attack.

"The officials on hearing the spora-dic gunshots from the bandits took to different directions for safety. Both Adebayo and Iyanda were hiding in a nearby bush when they were sighted by the escaping gunmen who later took them away," he said.

He said after he was informed of the incident, a search party comprising of FRSC officials, police and local vigilante men began on Monday morning, but the effort did not yield any result until Tuesday evening when a woman who went to fetch firewood from the bush discovered their bodies.

The woman perceived an odour and saw flies all over, she later traced the odour to a spot where she used a stick to scratch the ground and saw a body in a shallow grave. She raised an alarm which attracted other villagers. FRSC officials, policemen and community members followed her into the bush to ascertain her claim," he said.

He said the bodies were immediately retrieved from the shallow grave, adding that the gunmen removed their uniforms before shooting them on the head at close range.

"The gunmen went away with their uniforms, service belts and shoes, identity cards, official and personal mobile phones and ATM cards. The bodies of Adebayo and Iyanda have been deposited at the morgue of Ankuri Hospital in Lokoja.

Governor, Idris Wada, the FRSC headquarters in Abuja and security agencies in the state have been informed of the incident," he said.