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Nigeria: Robbers Lay Fresh Siege to Lagos, Kill 2
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Vanguard (Lagos)
22 October 2007
Posted to the web 23 October 2007
Emma Nnadozie, Chioma Gabriel, Olasunkanmi Akoni & Evelyn Usman
LATEST efforts by the Police and the Lagos State government to fight robbery in the state have fallen far short of expectation with robbers appearing to have the upper hand.
Residents continue to be attacked at home and on the road almost daily while people are killed or made to lose property.
Only yesterday, robbers struck afresh in broad daylight at Okota, Ilasamaja and Cele Bus Stop off the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, as well as Mile Two and Ibese in Ikorodu. At least two persons died in the robbery attacks.
The Ilasamaja operation took place between 11am and noon yesterday when a gang of robbers numbering over 20 and armed with sophisticated weapons attempted to invade a bank on Ademola Street.
The robbers were said to have trailed a company vehicle (name withheld) that was carrying a huge sum of money to the bank.
The robbers, however, lost track of the vehicle as it succeeded in entering the bank before they arrived. On getting to the bank, the robbers found the gates shut and started shooting into the air.
Security men attached to the bank responded swiftly thereby forcing the robbers to flee the scene.
They kept shooting as they retreated.
The robbers fled through Okota road and the popular Cele-bus stop thereby causing stampede as people fled for dear lives.
The raid grounded commercial activities at the ever-busy bus stop while traffic came to an abrupt halt as motorists and commercial drivers abandoned their vehicles and took to their heels.
The robbers then headed towards Oshodi/Apapa Expressway where a team of Policemen who were chasing them lost track of them.
Some traders at Cele bus stop told Vanguard that the robbers came when they were about settling down for the day's business and started shooting in every direction.
An eyewitness who pleaded anonymity said some of the robbers were in military and e police uniforms and were fully armed with sophisticated weapons.
Simultaneously, another gang of robbers numbering about 20 were unleashing terror at Ibeshi-Owode, Ikorodu.
The robbers who arrived in unmarked vehicles broke into a bank and carted away an unspecified amount of money.
2 shot dead
Eyewitnesses said a sergeant on guard duty at the bank and another civilian were shot dead while some customers of the bank and passers-bye were hit by stray bullets.
When Vanguard visited the scene around 3.30 p.m, it was gathered that some of the wounded were rushed to the Gbagada General Hospital and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba for treatment while bodies of the victims were deposited at an undisclosed hospital.
Policemen from Ipakodo and other divisions went after the robbers who reportedly snatched several vehicles as they escaped.
Three of the snatched vehicles were recovered.
They were a Honda Accord, a Toyota Camry and a Mercedes Benz from which one AK-47 rifle, two magazines and an unexpended number of bullets were also recovered.
On Sunday morning, another gang of robbers struck at Mile 2 bridge and held scores of people going to their respective homes hostage.
The operation which has become a regular feature there resulted in traffic gridlock as motorists abandoned their vehicles and ran into the nearby swamp while commuters also took to their heel.
The robbers later proceeded towards Berger Yard Motors junction where they made a U-turn and disappeared into the thin air.
Robbers attack Vanguard Editors
Earlier on Thursday night, another gang of robbers abducted the Deputy Editor of Vanguard, Mr. Mideno Bayagbon as he closed from work.
They locked him in the booth of his Kia Sorento jeep and drove him around the metropolis, robbing. He was released afterwards unharmed.
The Editor of the newspaper, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, had also narrowly escaped death at the same spot a few weeks back after another gang of armed robbers attempted snatching his car.
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He was lucky to escape after maneuvering his car but they released several bullet shots in an attempt to demobilise his car without success.
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