Persistent shooting from what sounded like automatic rifles in the early hours of yesterday morning, around Sun City Estate, Galadima, along the Suleja-Kubwa erxpressway, robbed residents of their sleep. LEADERSHIP gathered that the shooting began around 2.30 am and lasted till about 4.00am during a robbery incident.

This, some of the sources who spoke with our reporter said was the tradition anytime the Christmas festivities were approaching. According to them, when they heard the shots, they initially thought it was either the police trying to send a warning signal or the security personnel of some top shots who reside in the neighbourhood. But the persistence of the shooting made them realize that a family may be experiencing a robbery attack.

Speaking on the incident a lady who gave her name as Aisha said the shooting would not have been from anyone else but robbers. "We heard the shooting around 2.30 am and immediately everybody in the house became alert. This is how they usually invade the estate every Xmas. We thought the shooting will never end. At a point, it was like there was an exchange of fire between them and the police. It was also obvious that the guns the people had were not ordinary guns. They must have been automatic riffles.

The sound alone can make you want to go and ease yourself several times at once. "The shooting did not stop until around 4.00am. at that time it was almost impossible for us to go back to sleep as my husband and I had to start getting the children ready for school", she said Aisha who called on the FCT police command to swing into action immediately to ensure that the robbers do not have a field day this Christmas season. She pleaded that the police command should reintroduce the midnight patrol which the police engaged in every yuletide.

According to her, any period the police are on patrol the robbers who she lamented have always made life unbearable for the residents of Galadima and the neighbouring Dawaki village, usually find it difficult to operate. Attempts to find out at the Galadima police post if there was any robbery incident in the estate that night failed as the officers refused to speak.

They referred this reporter to the FCT command where they have the authority to comment on their activities. However, an officer who spoke under condition of anonymity said it was not unusual for robbers to attack places where they think they could get something tangible. He pointed out that the police were working out a plan to ensure that there was zero robbery occurrences this season.

When contacted the FCT police spokesman, Mr. Jimoh said that they had not received any report of a robbery incident from that area. He assured that he would inform the paper if there was any such incident.