Dare-devil robbers rattled Lagos yesterday, killing three policemen and three civilians. The robbers, who operated in a black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), also injured three other civilians as they unleashed terror on different areas of the metropolis. One of the civilians, a bureau de-change operator, was shot in Agege.
The robbers were said to have started their operations from the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, killing a commercial motorcycle rider in Ijesha area. The robbers were said to have proceeded to Bariga, where they raided a commercial bank and carted away unspecified amount of money. They left Agege for Ogba but seeing that the police had barricaded the area, they began shooting sporadically, injuring many. The robbers, made a detour and were retreating through the Oba Akran Road, when they sighted a police patrol team. They intercepted the van and rained bullets on the policemen.
The policemen, who were taken unawares by the robbers were helpless and when the dust settled, two policemen lay dead, while two others were badly injured. As at the time of filing this report, the dead policemen had been taken to the Area ‘F’ Police Command, Ikeja, while the two injured ones were rushed to hospital.
The policemen who were angry at the way their colleagues were killed vowed to avenge their death. An eyewitness, a commercial motorcycle operator (Okada rider), who simply identified himself as Kabiru, told reporters that he was following the SUV, which the robbers were operating in, but did not know they were armed robbers. He said it dawned on him that they were robbers when they suddenly intercepted the patrol team and started shooting at the policemen. “It was like a war scene, I saw death with my eyes. They shot dead two policemen.” Kabiru said vehicle owners hurriedly abandoned their vehicles and scampered for safety, causing traffic gridlock.
A senior police officer confirmed that three policemen were killed, adding that the police were on the trail of the robbers, who, he said, would soon be arrested. The senior police officer revealed that they were trans-border robbers, who allegedly hacked into their communication network. “That was why anywhere we radio for their arrest, they would retreat or turn to a different route.” When contacted, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko, who confirmed that his command lost three men of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), vowed to get the robbers. In his words: “I am really sad about what happened but mark my words, we will get the robbers. They are trans-borders robbers but we must get them soonest.”
culled from Sun