The Nation Newspaper

Tag: robbers

  • Robbers in dawn raid of Lagos hotel

    There was panic yesterday at a popular hotel in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos following an early morning invasion by armed robbers.

    The gang, numbering about 20, it was learnt, gained access to the ‘tight security’ street not far from Divine Estate, and forced lodgers in the suites to transfer money through token and other Internet banking methods.

    They were said to have stormed the premises around 12:30am and moved from one room to another demanding ATM cards, pin numbers from the owners at gunpoint,  which they passed to other members of the gang to use at a bank located on the other side of the road.

    A source who does not want to be named said the robbers ordered their victims to remove their simcards from their phones to prevent them from seeking help.

    “I am still in shock.A friend of mine came into town and so, I went there to be with him. I was there and I just thank God that I don’t have neither ATM no token.

    “We were already in bed when it happened. It was around 12:30am. I don’t know how they opened the door but immediately they came in, they told us to submit our phones.

    “We did not argue with them. They said they were not interested in taking any of our gadgets because we would use the gadgets to make more money that we should remove our sim cards from our phones.

    “About five men came inside the room and they all had guns. I was already panicking. So, my friend complied with them. The next thing, they said we should bring out our ATM cards and write down the pin that if we like our lives, we would not try to give a wrong pin.

    “Fortunately,  I don’t have an ATM card because mine has expired and I have not gone for a new one. My friend gave them his ATM and wrote down his pin for them and before us, they handed it to one of the members who went out with it.

    “Later on, we were taken down and to my surprise, I saw many other people who from the looks on their faces, have had similar experience.

    “That was where we all waited at gun point until the about seven men wearing caps and dark shades, who had gone to use the ATM cards returned and dropped them for the owners to sort out.

    “It was when they left that one of the customers disclosed that he was forced to use his token to transfer N2.5 million to the robbers’ account. He said when they told him to bring his ATM card, his token fell and they asked him to return his sim card into his phone and do mobile banking.

    “He told us that they checked his account balance and put a gun to his head to transfer the money to the account number that was dictated to him.

    “Everyone was in shock and we could not go back to sleep. I am still very shocked because I thought things like that can only happen in films. I know that the street has very tight security. There are Bakassi boys even engaged as vigilantes boys.

    Asked if the matter was reported at the police, the source answered in the affirmative, adding that most of the victims followed the hotel management to Amuwo Odofin police station.

    But while the state command’s spokesman, DSP Ken Nwosu denied knowledge of the incident, the Area E Commander, ACP Dan Okoro abruptly ended this reporter’s call at the mention of the incident, claiming he was not around.

    Nwosu said: “I have contacted most of the police divisions in Area E and they said no such report was made. If armed robbers attacked a hotel for close to four hours and the management did not deem it fit to inform the police,  then, something is wrong. That hotel should be held responsible,” said Nwosu.

    At the time The Nation visited the hotel premises, people were seen in clusters discussing, as they turn curious gazes to anyone entering the hotel.

    The reporter could not speak with the hotel management for official confirmation as he was said to have closed for the day.

  • Police arrest ‘robbers’ over killing of corps member

    Police arrest ‘robbers’ over killing of corps member

    The Edo State Police Command has arrested two suspected robbers over the killing of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)  member in Benin, the Edo State capital.

    The suspects, Matthais Efe and Dominus Aisabodo, allegedly killed 21-year-old David Onyeasina, who was posted to Edo College on Murtala Muhammed Way in Benin.

    Onyeasina was a graduate of Fine and Applied Arts at the Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

    He was said to have gone to a shop to buy a recharge card last Saturday when the robbers attacked the shop and shot him dead.

    The police said they arrested Efe and Aisabodo during a patrol.

    Onyeasina was reportedly hit by a stray bullet as the hoodlums attempted to escape.

    Police spokesman Stephen Onwochei, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the arrest of the suspects.

    He said items recovered from them include two cut-to-size guns, nine live cartridges, 10 mobile phones and jewellery belonging to their victims.

    Onwochei said the police were on the trail of other members of the gang.

    He urged the public to assist the police with relevant information.

     

  • Sea robbers kill naval rating in Bayelsa

    •Rifle stolen

    Gunmen suspected to be sea robbers have shot dead a Naval rating in Akassa, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    The gunmen reportedly killed the rating at a new waterway checkpoint established by the Forward Operating Base (FOB), FORMOSO, to check the rising crime rate in the area.

    The three hoodlums were said to have opened fire on the Navy crew on a routine stop-and-search operation on Saturday morning and killed the rating.

    It was learnt that the Naval rating flagged down the boat carrying the gunmen.

    On approaching the checkpoint, the gunmen were said to have raised their hands, in compliance with the security regulations on the waterways.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said the rating searched and cleared the boat, oblivious that guns were concealed in the vessel.

    “The hoodlums were already clear to leave the checkpoint. The rating had left them to clear a passenger boat behind them.

    “It was at that point the sea robbers brought out their rifle and shot the rating. After shooting him, they collected his rifle and fled into the creeks,” the source said.

    The remains of the unnamed naval rating, said to be attached to the FORMOSO, has been recovered and deposited at an unnamed morgue in Brass.

    Pirates have been unleashing terror on travellers on the waterways.

    The Commanding Officer of FOB FORMOSO, Captain A. S. Olanrewaju, declined to comment on the matter.

    But a Navy source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident.

    “One of our ratings was killed by sea robbers at a new checkpoint in Akassa. The checkpoint was established recently, following outcries among the residents in the area about the increasing activities of sea robbers and pirates. We are going to fish out the killers,” he said.

    Governor Seriake Dickson recently inaugurated the Local Government Chairmen/Coordinators for the Bayelsa State Waterways Security Patrol Task Force to curb criminality.

    The governor gave them a mandate to feed security agencies with community-based intelligence on criminal activities.

    He urged them to liaise with community leaders in their various local government areas to gather information on criminal acts, such as sea piracy, crude oil theft, kidnapping, illegal refineries.

    Dickson noted that in the last two months, there had been an upsurge in security breaches, especially in the East and Sentral senatorial districts.

  • Blacksmith held for selling gun to robbers

    Blacksmith held for selling gun to robbers

    A 65-year-old blacksmith, Najimu Bakare, has been arrested by the police for selling a gun to armed robbers. But the suspect said he thought the buyers were either hunters or members of a vigilance group.

    The suspect is being detained by the Lagos State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

    Others also being held are: Dare Ayetoba, 22; Adewale Odusote, 22, and Idris Tairu, 25.

    According to police, the suspects were arrested on May 15 by the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and handed over to the Area J Command in Ajah. They were subsequently handed over to SARS. In his defence, Bakare said he sold the gun to the men believing that they were wither hunters or vigilante.

    He said: “I joined Aye Fraternity in March, 2012.  They gave me a nylon bag to take to our man, Dare, but the police stopped me, searched the bag and arrested me.

    Idris said it was Kelly that introduced him to the deal, while Bakare said: “I sold gun to them for N30, 000.  I did not know that they were armed robbers.  I thought that they were either vigilance men or hunters.”

  • Robbers invade LUTH again

    Robbers invade LUTH again

    •Doctors, students, others lose valuables  •Students protest insecurity

    For the umpteenth time, robbers invaded the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) early yesterday, attacking doctors, students and others in the workers’ mosque.

    The gun-wielding robbers struck few minutes after 3am, and carted away cash, handsets, laptops and wristwatches, among others.

    Enraged by the raid, students locked all the gates leading into the institution around 4am.

    Many were said to have been injured, while scampering to safety.

    No fewer than 15 persons were said to be in the mosque during the attack. They included students who came to read because there was no light in their hostels and relatives of those admitted in the hospital.

    Some students who went to report the incident to the security were reportedly harassed, maltreated and beaten, infuriating their colleagues who mobilised others to fight back.

    All entreaties to the students by some senior officials to reopen the gates were rebuffed.

    Some police officers broke the gate leading to Mushin to gain access, leaving the ones at Idi-Araba.

    The students protested against what they called erratic power supply and insecurity.

    According to the College of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Science Students Association (COMPSSA) President Folasade Anthony, the students were robbed while reading at the mosque.

    A student, who simply identified herself as Alhaja, said the robbers, who were armed with guns and machetes, operated freely.

    She said after the operation, the robbers ran towards the gate and jumped over the fence.

    Alhaja said a student, who went to alert the security men, was slapped by a guard.

    “This was what irked the students and we decided to protest. We also locked the gate, leaving only the Mushin gate opened,” she said.

    A worker who preferred anonymity, said robbery was becoming rampant in the hospital.

    He said the hospital has in the last two months been under robbers’ siege.

    Some doctors and nurses working in the laboratory were robbed recently, he said.

    According to him, the college and LUTH need to do something about security.

    The mosque caretaker said he was surprised, adding that this is the first time in his 15 years at the mosque that such a thing has happened.

    He said the students came to read because there was no light in their hostels, adding: “It was when I got here that people started telling me how the students were robbed. It was really shocking that robbers do not have respect for the mosque.”

    CMUL Deputy Provost Prof Abayomi Okanlawon and Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee Dr Wasiu Adeyemo persuaded the students to reopen the gates.

    They promised that management would look into their grievances.

     

  • Police parade 162 suspected cultists, 29 ‘robbers’ in Rivers

    •Nine ‘robbers’, two ‘cultists’, two ‘kidnappers’ killed

    The Rivers State Police Command has said it killed 13 suspected criminals in gun battles last month.

    Its spokesman Ahmed K. Mohammed, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, during the parade of over 200 suspects, including four women, at the Anti-Kidnapping Unit.

    The suspects are being held for various crimes, including cultism, robbery and kidnapping.

    The police said 162 suspects were arrested for alleged cultism and related activities; seven for alleged kidnap and 29 for alleged robbery.

    They also said nine suspected robbers, two suspected kidnappers and two “cultists” were killed in a gun battle within the period.

    The police said they foiled five kidnap attempts and rescued five kidnap victims.

    A statement yesterday said 34 firearms, 174 ammunition/cartridges, 15 stolen vehicles, four tricycle/motorcycles and N296,760, including N10,000 suspected fake currencies and various shapes and sizes of charms were recovered from the hoodlums.

    The suspects were arrested mainly from Rumuekini, East-West Road, both in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area and Chokocho, in Etche Local Government Area.

    The police hailed the public for its cooperation, which it said led to the arrest of the suspects.

    The command called for more assistance for the police.

    It reiterated its commitment to ridding the state of hoodlums.

    The command warned criminals to have a change of heart or face its wrath.

     

  • Police kill suspected robbers in botched attack on herdsmen

    The Delta State Police Command has said it shot dead two suspected robbers after a botched attack on some herdsmen.

    Police spokesperson Tina Kalu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the incident yesterday in Asaba, the state capital.

    She said the four hoodlums attacked herdsmen in a bush at Okpara waterside, Ethiope East Local Government Area.

    Kalu said the police station at Isiokolo, the local government’s headquarters, got a distress call from a man simply identified as Alhaji Ibrahim, that some gunmen attacked his herdsmen.

    The spokesperson said operatives from the police station rushed to the scene.

    She said the hoodlums alighted from their operational vehicle and engaged the police in a shootout.

    According to her, the gunmen fled into the bush when the police nearly overpowered them.

    Kalu said the police pursued the suspects into the bush, where two of them were shot.

    The others escaped, she added.

    The spokesperson said the two injured suspects died on the way to the hospital.

    Items recovered from the suspects include six cut-to-size guns, two Nokia handsets and a Honda Accord salon with number plate (Lagos) SE858AAA.

    Kalu said the police had begun a manhunt for the fleeing suspects.

     

  • Robbers injured in attack on two banks

    Robbers struck in Ikorodu yesterday on the outskirt of Lagos, attacking two first generation banks on Ijede Road.

    The early morning attack took place at a bank in Omitoro Town, few minutes after the bank opened for business.

    Eye witnesses said the robbers, who were carrying heavy machine guns, took many customers on queue at the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) by surprise as they made for the main door without anybody suspecting them.

    It was gathered that they succeeded in over-powering the plain clothes men and corporate security guards.

    Witnesses said the robbers blasted the security door with dynamites and made away with several millions of Naira.

    It was gathered that they scared the people away by firing into the air before escaping in a Lexus Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) snatched from its owner, towards Ijede before the arrival of the police.

    Several customers ran for safety and some were injured in the process. Others had to climb a diesel tank and jumping over a barbed wire fence.

    The robbers thereafter attacked another bank, but met a stiff resistance from the police, who had stationed themselves in readiness for them.

    The police, it was said, exchanged heavy gun shots with them and prevented them from entering the bank.

    Having been frustrated by the superior firing power of the police, the robbers drove to the nearby Area ‘N’ Police Command but again met with resistance from the police who had placed themselves on alert in readiness for attack.

    The robbers, according to Police spokesperson, Kenneth Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), lost two of their operation vehicles, which went up in flames during the exchange of gun fire. Some of them were injured before escaping through the lagoon with their loot in a speed boat.

    Nwosu also confirmed that the robbery incident at the first bank was successful; the second was foiled.

    He, however, could not give the figure of the amount lost to the robbers, saying investigation was still on-going.

    According to him, no arrest was made so far and that there was no casualty recorded.

    “Several customers ran for safety and some were injured in the process. Others had to climb a diesel tank and jumping over a barbed wire fence”

     

     

  • Robbers kill Rev Father,brother in Ondo

    Ugbe-Akoko in Akoko North East Local Government Area of Ondo State was thrown into mourning at the weekend following the death of two siblings-Rev Father Onyeka and his junior brother,Obi Onyeka.

    The bereaved family is from Igbo land and sojourning in Ugbe- Akoko.

    Sources said the two brothers were shot by armed bandits who laid a siege on Owo-Oba-Akoko- Ikare road for daylight robbery.

    It was learnt that the deceased were coming from Lagos when hoodlums waylaid them between Ose and Oba-Akoko and shot them several times.

    The vehicle in which they were travelling was said to have consequently burst into flames.

    Scores of symphatisers were seen at Ugbe-Akoko residence of Mr Onyeka,the father of the deceased said to be a celebrated Baker in the ancient community.

    Igbo residents in Ugbe-Akoko were in pensive mood following the incident which claimed lives of two of their kinsmen.

    Many shops in the community were also closed as people discussed the incident in hushed tone.

    Contacted, the State Police Spokesman, DSP Wole Ogodo said the hoodlums came out of the bush which was far away from police check-point and shot the deceased who were travelling in a Toyota Highlander Jeep.

    According to him, the robbers bullets hit the tank of the ill-fated vehicle and unknowingly the driver was in a bid to escape with vehicle when it caught fire and burnt the deceased.

    He said the driver sustained injury and now receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.

    Ogodo said “Our patrol team quickly went to the scene to rescue the surviving driver and deposit the corpses of the deceased in a mortuary.”

    The Police Spokesman said efforts were on to arrest the bandits, while assuring passengers of their safety on Akoko and other roads across the state.

  • Robbers invade LUTH again

    Robbers invade LUTH again

    •Doctors, students, others lose valuables
    •Students protest insecurity

    For the umpteenth time, robbers invaded the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) early yesterday, attacking doctors, students and others in the workers’ mosque.

    The gun-wielding robbers struck few minutes after 3am, and carted away cash, handsets, laptops and wristwatches, among others.

    Enraged by the raid, students locked all the gates leading into the institution around 4am.

    Many were said to have been injured, while scampering to safety.

    No fewer than 15 persons were said to be in the mosque during the attack. They included students who came to read because there was no light in their hostels and relatives of those admitted in the hospital.

    Some students who went to report the incident to the security were reportedly harassed, maltreated and beaten, infuriating their colleagues who mobilised others to fight back.

    All entreaties to the students by some senior officials to reopen the gates were rebuffed.

    Some police officers broke the gate leading to Mushin to gain access, leaving the ones at Idi-Araba.

    The students protested against what they called erratic power supply and insecurity.

    According to the College of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Science Students Association (COMPSSA) President Folasade Anthony, the students were robbed while reading at the mosque.

    A student, who simply identified herself as Alhaja, said the robbers, who were armed with guns and machetes, operated freely.

    She said after the operation, the robbers ran towards the gate and jumped over the fence.

    Alhaja said a student, who went to alert the security men, was slapped by a guard.

    “This was what irked the students and we decided to protest. We also locked the gate, leaving only the Mushin gate opened,” she said.

    A worker who preferred anonymity, said robbery was becoming rampant in the hospital.

    He said the hospital has in the last two months been under robbers’ siege.

    Some doctors and nurses working in the laboratory were robbed recently, he said.

    According to him, the college and LUTH need to do something about security.

    The mosque caretaker said he was surprised, adding that this is the first time in his 15 years at the mosque that such a thing has happened.

    He said the students came to read because there was no light in their hostels, adding: “It was when I got here that people started telling me how the students were robbed. It was really shocking that robbers do not have respect for the mosque.”

    CMUL Deputy Provost Prof Abayomi Okanlawon and Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee Dr Wasiu Adeyemo persuaded the students to reopen the gates.

    They promised that management would look into their grievances.