By Evelyn Usman
THE resounding gun shots from a four-man robbery gang on two commercial motorcycles popularly called okada, rattled residents of Apapa, last Thursday, with everyone taking to his heels. But at the centre of the scene of the gun shots was a woman who had gone to one of the new generation banks around Calcutta Crescent to withdraw an unspecified amount of money. The robbers who apparently laid ambush for her, opened fire to scare away intruders and dispossessed the helpless and fear-stricken woman of the withdrawn cash.

However, as they were about to flee from the scene, policemen from Apapa division who were on a routine patrol swooped on them, thereby leading to another round of sporadic shootings, which again, sent  people scampering for safety. In the process, two members of the gang were gunned down, while the rest bowed to the superior fire power of the policemen led by the Divisional Police Officer, Mohammed Mu’azu, as they managed to flee the scene.

*Recovered motorcycle

After the dust had settled, residents and customers who had gone for to one transaction or the other at separate banks, throng the scene,to behold the sight of the gunmen who had incisions on their thighs and knees, with charms tied round their shoulders and necks. Just then, three persons; a man and two women among the crowd, identified one of the dead men as a member of the robbery gang who at different times attacked them.

As if that was not enough, another man, simply identified as Alhaji, who managed to meander his way through the crowd, also corroborated their claim. In his case, Alhaji claimed that the bearded deceased attacked his brother two weeks ago, shot him in the leg and made away with the sum of N550,000.

He said: “My brother is still in the hospital. He had successfully withdrawn the amount from the bank and was heading home, when all of a sudden, two okada intercepted the one my brother was riding on. They asked him to bring the money he went to withdraw and before he could fathom what they were up to, this one (pointing to one of the dead gunmen) opened fire and shot him on the leg before he forcefully collected the money and fled.”

Residents of the area who lauded effort of policemen from Apapa division, however, decried the untold harassment  they have been suffering in the hands of  robbers whenever they went to withdraw money from banks.

The robbers often, as gathered, disguised as commercial motorcyclists and always station around banks, waiting for their preys, only to strike at the slightest advantage. At other times, particularly when customers drove in their vehicles, they would intercept them, shoot into the air and collect the withdrawn amount. Not even those who  go to withdraw money with ATM, according to them, were spared.

Following the disturbing development,a stakeholders meeting on security between banks in Apapa and the Apapa Police division was held, where police support was solicited . At the end of the meeting, Crime Alert gathered that policemen from the division intensified their patrol around areas where banks are situated, with some of them in plain clothes patrolling on foot. The killing of the two suspected robbers believed to have been terrorizing bank customers, was attributed to strategic measures put in place by the division to address the worrisome trend.

However, security report, according to police sources, revealed that some of the robbers usually come from the densely populated Ajegunle area of the state.. For instance, the two suspects that were gunned down were reported to be residing in Ajegunle.

To this end, residents of Apapa have called for an intensified patrol by police divisions in Ajegunle, with a view to checkmating activities of unscrupulous individuals who usually came from the area.

One of  the residents who identified himself as Akinfisoye Gboyega specifically called on the DPOs in police divisions  around Ajegunle to join in the patrols, pointing out that it would go a long way to boosting the moral of their subordinates.

According to him, “ for instance, the DPO Apapa division, is always seen patrolling the environs with his men and we learnt he led the team that killed these robbers. If all DPOs, particularly those in Ajegunle, where most of these robbers come from will follow suit, it will go a long way, not just only to nipping activities of robbers in both areas in the bud but   will also arrest these robbers before they leave their areas. Without that , these evil people will continue because immediately they finish operating, they would escape through the several exit points.”

Recovered from the dead suspects were a cut -to-size locally made gun with one of their unregistered operational motorcycles.

Meanwhile, policemen at Apapa division, as gathered, have threatened to wage war against unscrupulous elements in the area, saying that the death of the two robbery suspects was enough to send a warning signal to others.