By Favour Nnabugwu

Residents of Kubwa, an Abuja  suburb, are living in fear as armed robbers have continued to unleash terror on them; even the police are not spared by these criminals.

Sunday Vanguard investigations revealed that worst hit by the robbery attacks are residents in Arab Road. The robbers operate along Arab Road and Pipeline Byazhin axis attacking residents and police officers.

Some of the residents are considering relocating from the once peaceful area but now prone to robbery attacks.

Mr Moses Uankhueche, a resident of Arab Road, had his Toyota Corolla, marked, ABC 532 MU, 2003 model, stolen at gun point at Julius Berger Camp Gate in Kubwa on January 27.

Uankhueche said he was driving home from work at about  6p.m.  when he was flagged down by a young man who was pretending to be someone in need of help. And as he pulled over, he was shocked when the young man pulled out a gun and pointed it at him and then commanded him to move to the passenger side of the car, so that he could take over the steering wheel.

Realizing what he was in for, the victim opted to flee knowing that if he was taken away along with the car, he might not make it out alive. And before he could make a move, other members of the gang were all around the car but he was still able to escape while the armed men went away with his car which had important documents including the original documents of the car and his two mobile phones.

For law enforcement agents, it was a gruesome Friday, February 13, when suspected robbers shot rapidly at three policemen, two sergeants and one inspector, killing two and leaving one critically wounded.

The victims were among two inspectors, Monday Tonga and Tonochi Chibuwa, and two sergeants,  Abu Godwin and Aliyu Yakubu, assigned to the Observation Post on Arab Road Junction by Kubwa Expressway a day before for night duty. The officers were said to have finished their duty and were due to leave around  6am on Friday so that the next duty officers could take over from them. Godwin and Tonga had already boarded a motorcycle a.k.a Okada while Yakubu was waiting for Chibuwa to also board an Okada so they could all move at the same time to their arms at the Phase 4 Station, Kubwa when the armed men came over to where they were and began shooting at them.

The three officers outside waiting for Chibuwa, who was in a nearby bush to ease himself, noticed a car parked on the other side of the road and, all of a sudden, the car swerved to the side of the road where the officers were waiting for their colleague. Curious about the car and what its occupants were up to, the two sergeants got off the motorbike, followed by Yakubu, and walked towards the car, unknown to them that they were armed robbers. As they walked towards the car, two fully armed men, suspected to be men of the underworld, jumped out of the car and opened fire on the officers.

Tonga and Godwin died on the spot while Yakubu sustained gunshot wounds on his right arm. Aliyu managed to run into a   nearby container to load his gun but the robbers followed him there and shot at him twice on his chest and, thinking he was dead, they left him. But Yakubu amazingly survived the attack. For Chibuwa, he remained glued to where he was easing himself knowing that it was not safe for him to come out. The remains of the two dead officers were deposited at Kubwa General Hospital while Yakubu is responding to treatment in an undisclosed hospital.

An eye witness, Mr Udoh Umeh, told Sunday Vanguard that he was on his way to work that morning when he saw the way the car swerved to where the officers were standing. At that point, he said he became apprehensive so he parked his car and hid in the nearby bush where he watched to scenario as it unfolded.

“I was behind the vehicle when it suddenly parked opposite of the police office and, within two minutes, the next thing l heard were gun shots”, he said.

“Panicked and confused as l was, l parked and ran into the bush close by while l watched in fear.

“If you go to the container that is located at the site where the shooting took place, you will see the bullet penetration. About 21 empty shells were picked right before my eyes that morning from the floor. The guys used AK47 rifles”.

Sunday Vanguard investigations revealed that officers detailed from Byazhin and Phase 4 Police Stations picked 21 pellets from the scene of the incident.

When contacted on phone, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP, Anjuguri Manzah, confirmed the incident, though said the officers were seriously injured and not died.

“What happened that morning was an unfortunate incident. It was a confrontation between our men who were on duty and some gunmen. It was an exchange of fire between our men and those criminals. Our men sustained some level of injury and they are currently receiving treatment”, Manzah said.

“The Commissioner of Police is concerned about the incident and has given a directive for the commencement of investigation into the matter; so, as l am speaking with you now, investigation is ongoing to track down the assailants. Our men are working hard to arrest the suspects”.