While the Eid-el-Fitri celebration was still
thick in the air on Monday night, armed robbers struck on Popoola and Oreofero streets,
Bariga, Lagos, and unleashed terror on some residents.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the robbers
stormed the streets at about 2am, and left after about three hours of robbery
and battering.
Despite the light rain in the area that time,
residents said the robbers went up and down the street, smashing glasses of
vehicles, and other property.
Our correspondent gathered that at least three
residents were stabbed by the armed robbers, who were said to be large in
number.
When our correspondent visited the area on
Tuesday morning, a resident, who was also a victim, said his 25-year-old
neighbor was stabbed in the head and back, but had been rushed to a private
hospital in the area for treatment.
He said, “It was very serious. The robbers seemed
to think that because of the Ramadan celebrations, security would be relaxed.
They got to our house around 4am. Four of them entered the building, but we
could hear the voices of several others outside. They threatened to kill
whoever did not ‘cooperate’ with them. They stole money, phones, laptops and
other valuables.
“They inflicted matchet cuts on residents. My
neighbour, a 25-year-old man was injured on the head, and on the back. He was
bleeding profusely when they left. We had to rush him to a private hospital to
save his life.”
Another resident, who identified himself simply
as Sulaiman, said the robbers also entered several shops, and burgled them,
adding that they caught people unawares because of the Ramadan celebration.
He said, “I run a barbing salon and also deal in
sound systems. I left my shop around 10pm, and went home. All through the
night, we could not sleep as the robbers went from house to house. They did not
touch some houses where they knew security was tight. They came to my house,
but they did not get to my apartment.
“I thought I had escaped. But when I got to the
salon in the morning, my two laptops, my phones and money were all gone. They
forced their way in, and carted everything away.”
One of the residents claimed that the Pedro
Police Division was informed while the robbery went on, but the police did not
show up early to save the situation.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer,
Ngozi Braide, said some hoodlums had come to the area to steal a commercial
bus, but they were eventually arrested by the police.
She said, “There was no robbery for hours in the
area. What happened was that the Pedro Police Division received a distress call
that some hoodlums in the area wanted to steal a commercial bus. The
Anti-Robbery Squad of the division responded to the situation and arrested the
hoodlums. They are presently in police custody.”
Source:Punch
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