By Kingsley Fanwo

LOKOJA—A gang of robbers struck last weekend, at Itakpe, a community located along Lokoja-Okene Road, attacking hapless victims, including the former chairman of Mopamuro Local Government Area, Sogo Williams.

Eyewitness account had it that the robbery took place less than 400 meters from one of the campuses of Kogi State Polytechnic located in the industrial town.

The prompt response by a combined security team of the army and mobile policemen saved others from being attacked by the heavily armed robbers.

Narrating his ordeals to Vanguard, Sogo Williams said the robbers dispossessed him of valuables during the attack.

“I was going to Mopamuro from Lokoja on the fateful day. My vehicle was waylaid by the robbers who were heavily armed.

‘’After dispossessing me of my valuables and money, they took me into the bush. It took the intervention of the security agents to rescue me from them,” he said.

When Vanguard visited the scene of the robbery, residents of the community called on security agencies to step up their surveillance as robbery was fast becoming the order of the day in the area.

A resident, who sought anonymity, said:  “For sometime now, this area has been notorious for robbery. They have robbed and maimed so many people here over the past six months.

‘’My worry is how they always go scot free, despite the presence of security check points along Lokoja-Okene Road. The Commissioner of Police should do something about the issue urgently.”

Motorists also corroborated the position of the residents on the incessant robbery in the area, calling for improved security along the road.