THE peace and quiet of a residential
estate in Lekki was violently shattered in the early hours of yesterday, when
armed robbers invaded the estate located next to Goshen Estate and Elf Estate
between Second and Third Roundabout.
Describing the incident as one coming
out of a movie script, a resident said the 15 armed men who arrived in two
vehicles stormed their way into the estate, gaining entrance by driving closely
behind a resident and threatening the security guards.
Their getaway vehicle was said to have
been stolen at gunpoint in Isolo more than 30 kilometres away and arrived with
the car owner still locked up inside the boot.
They then began entering homes one
after the other and robbed about six residents before police arrived in an
armoured truck at about 1.03a.m., and blocked the main entrance of the estate,
which however, did not stop the armed robbers from escaping.
Victims: Men, women and children, were
forced to lie flat out on their bellies, their faces to the floor.
Still reeling from the shock, one
resident said the ordeal, which lasted about an hour “felt like five
hours. “It is happening much too often”, another said while yet another said:
“It is a miracle no one got killed.”
The robbery seemed well -calculated and
planned. From what the car owner who spent terrifying hours in the boot of his
car described, the robbers convened at what seemed to be a mechanic’s workshop
to put finishing touches to their plans before they struck.
What they didn’t anticipate was the
police presence and exchange, thanks to a former Inspector General of Police
who is a resident in the area.
The robbers came prepared with
sophisticated and heavy assault machinery, which forced police to back off
eventually.
Some residents speculated that the
robbers might have been armed with Uzi and AK 47 assault rifles with which they
riddled the Police Rapid Response armoured truck with bullets, leaving it with
punctured tires, broken windscreens.
“It was a full exchange of gun fire.
They were brazen, bold and determined to carry out their mission, and managed
to get away “, a resident said.
A combination of factors seem to have
led to a rise in armed robberies, shootings and violent crimes.
While some blame it on lack of police
presence, others say the large number of illegal shacks that now fill the
surrounding empty plots of land in the area is also a factor.
The recent ban on commercial
motorcyclist, popularly called okada riders in Lagos, which has rendered many
young men idle and of course the fast approaching holiday season have also been
implicated.
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