Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Residents of Zone A, Kurudu, a suburb in the Abuja Municipality of the Federal Capital City Territory (FCT), are still living in fear, days after gunmen believed to be robbers unleashed terror on them.
On that evil day, January 11, the gunmen, numbering seven, carried out deadly raids on five flats in the area, leaving in their trail, tears and sorrows.
One of the victims of the attack, 57-year-old Michael Ibu, lost his life when he was shot at close range by the robbers in the presence of his wife and children.
Until his sudden death, the late Ibu was a businessman and a deacon with the Assemblies of God Church, Karu.
Although other victims of the robbery attack, including Temitope Awoyinka, are lucky to be alive to narrate the gory encounter, they are carrying various injuries and deep cuts on their bodies.
When Abuja Metro visited the community, the eldest son of the deceased, Godswill Ibu, gave a graphic account of the robbery.
“At about 2:30am of Thursday, January 11, 2018, we heard a bang on the widow to the children’s room. I got up from where I was lying and rushed there only to be held hostage by some armed men, who had gained entrance into the room through the damaged window.
While I was there with them, my father also arrived from his room. We were all rounded up by the robbers.
“By this time, some of the robbers entered from the main door and held my mother hostage. Only three out of the seven armed robbery were wearing masks.
“They started screaming where is the money? Where is the gold? Bring the money. Bring the gold. My father told them there was no gold in the house, but he gave them all the money in the house, about N600,000. They also collected our phones and laptops.
“My father cooperated with them, he even brought out his wallet and gave them, yet, they were not satisfied and shot him in his left thigh at close range.
“I was standing by his side when one of them shot him, he fell down and was bleeding seriously. They dragged him and locked us in the room and left. The whole operation lasted for about 40 minutes.
“After they left, I rushed my father to Customs Clinic, Karu, with a neighbour. I was only in shorts without a shirt.
“At Customs Clinic, they said there was no light; we rushed to Primus Hospital, Karu, they had no doctor. By this time, my father was bleeding heavily. We drove to General Hospital, Nyanya, after feeling his pulse, they said he was not responding. Not convinced, we took him to General Hospital, Asokoro, where he was confirmed dead by doctors at the Emergency Unit. We then deposited his corpse at the mortuary with the assistance of the police at Asokoro where we reported the incident.”
Another victim of the robbery attack, Awoyinka, who narrowly escaped death with machete cuts on his shoulders and head, narrated his experience to Abuja Metro.
“I was sleeping when my wife woke me up that armed robbers were around. When I woke up, I peeped through the toilet window and saw torchlights and some movements. I saw seven people and one of them was carrying what look like a pump-action gun, others where carrying machetes and daggers.
“I couldn’t do anything as I was helpless. They immediately arrived my flat, broke into my house and demanded for money.
“After collecting all we had, one of them started cutting me with his machete. It was God that saved me, because he wanted to hit me on the head with a big stick, I used my hand to block it and got dislocation in the process.
“When they left, I called my brother who rushed to the Kpegi Police Station to report. Initially, the police refused to come, but when they finally came in their van, they refused to come down, and drove away.
A source at the Jikwoyi Police Station who confirmed the incident said some of the robbers have been arrested, including a police officer.