A midnight prayer session in the apartment
of Mrs. Solomon Otuoche, ended in tragedy
last Saturday after armed robbers invaded
Iyewo Estate, Akesan, along the Igando-
LASU Road in Alimosho Local Government
Area of Lagos and shot the woman for
raising the alarm.
She died on the way to hospital.
Another woman, identified as Mrs. Emeka, who
was shot in both legs in the same house in which
Otuoche was attacked, however, survived.
A landlord on Ola Oluwa Street, Iyewo Estate, Mr.
Austin Nwudu, told Saturday PUNCH that he first
noticed the robbers as they entered the area from
the top floor of a two-storey building in which his
apartment was located.
He said, "I live upstairs and saw all that happened
on that fateful day. I started hearing the barking of
dogs in the neighbourhood about 2am and this
probably woke me up.
"It was strange because the dogs did not stop
barking. As I looked through my window, I saw
armed men (with guns) in my neighbour's
compound, banging at the door of a tenant
downstairs. They succeeded in entering the
apartment."
The house the robbers entered on that night is just
two houses away from his.
As his wife gathered the children to hide them in a
room, he furiously called other landlords in the
area.
He said, "My wife gathered my children, locked
them up in a room and started praying. I called my
neighbours, the Rapid Response Squad hotline and
the Divisional Police Officer of Igando.
"A policeman later informed me on the telephone
that their team had arrived at our gate. We called
our security man to open the gate. The policemen
started shooting into the air and other landlords
started shouting, 'Thief, thief.'"
However, while the police shot into the air, our
correspondent learnt that the robbers, who were
operating at No. 8, Ola Oluwa Street, became
impatient.
Two shots went off in the house and the robbers
escaped afterwards, the residents told Saturday
PUNCH.
A resident of the area, who pleaded anonymity, said
the policemen were able to gain entrance into the
compound after the robbers had left.
"It was when they got in that they saw the two
women in a pool of blood. The policemen took the
women to Igando General Hospital. Mama Emma
did not even get there before she died," the resident
said.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that Mama Emma incurred
the wrath of the robbers because she raised the
alarm.
Residents said the woman who survived was shot
because the robbers were angry that she failed to
stop Mama Emma from shouting.
The corpse of the deceased was later taken to a
private mortuary at Akesan.
Sunny, who lives in one of the apartments in the
building where the women were shot, said he was
lucky that the robbers did not get to his apartment
before they left.
"I heard a strange noise in our building that night
and I peeped out of my apartment to see what the
noise was all about. That was when I saw the
heavily-armed men numbering about seven.
"I rushed back into my apartment and started to
shout, 'Thief, thief.' My hope was that other
residents of the area would help to raise the alarm.
I was happy they did because the robbers left soon
after.
"The other woman who survived the shooting just
got married. She was in the deceased woman's
apartment for a night prayer session," Sunny said.
Our correspondent learnt that robberies are regular
occurrences around Igando, Akesan and Obadore.
"People are often killed in robbery attacks around
here. The police DPO at Igando needs to arrange for
a police post around here. The Commissioner of
Police needs to see to the establishment of the post
to cover Akesan and Obadore areas," a resident
said.
A police source told our correspondent that the
problem associated with policing the area had to do
with the fact that the area under the jurisdiction of
the Igando division is too large.
The telephone lines of the spokesperson for the
police command in the state, Ngozi Braide,
indicated they were switched off when our
correspondent called her on Wednesday.
But the DPO of Igando, Mr. Olugbemiga Adeoye,
confirmed the incident on the telephone on
Wednesday.
"The residents need to notify the command
headquarters for a police post to be stationed in
Akesan. It is not really in my place to arrange that.
"At the moment, I don't know if they have raised
any letter to that effect or made any request at the
police command headquarters. I have not got such
request," Adeoye said.
Our correspondent was informed that investigation
into the incident and moves to track down the
robbers were ongoing.
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