By Christopher Oji
There was pandemonium yesterday afternoon at Ugonoba before Ugoneki, after Benin Bypass, Edo State, when no fewer than 10 armed robbers blocked the expressway, shot two passengers and robbed other motorists and their passengers.
The heavily-armed gunmen had hijacked a truck which they used to barricade the road and started robbing travellers going to the East. Over 100 vehicles were stuck in the attack which made passengers to scamper for safety.
Some of the drivers started calling on their colleagues who halted their journey and parked near an Army checkpoint. The soldiers who saw the development as an affront called for reinforcement and moved to the robbery scene where the robbers were dispersed and the barricade was removed. The soldiers who asked the passengers to proceed on their journey, assured them of their safety after chasing away the bandits.
A witness, John Bewebiluenu, told our correspondent that “two per- sons were shot by the robbers. I don’t think that one of the victims will survive the gunshot injury because he was shot at a close range and in the heart.
“The other may survive because he was shot in his leg. It is a normal thing on this road. It is a daily occurrence as robbers will always block the road in broad daylight.
“Sometimes they may not be robbers but kidnappers who will pick their victims and go with them. This ugly attack happens always immediately after you join Ugonoba from Ugoneki. We need the presence of security agents on the road. It is a shame that gunmen will have the affront to block the road and be robbing travellers unchallenged. We are in trouble in Edo.”