HOW ROBBERS SPOILT MONDAY EVENING IN KADUNA

Yabo
For government workers and even private workers in Nigeria, the first working day of the week, Monday, is usually a busy day. To complete the day's schedules, both expected and unexpected assignments usually make the day even busier.

Expectedly, after a hard day's job, everybody would struggle home to  have a rest, and prepare for the next day's work. But for the residents of Gambia Avenue, Barnawa, Kaduna, Monday, August 2, 2010 was a hell as they left their respective places of work to encounter a terrifying harassment by armed robbers who struck at about 8 pm.

The robbers, according to an eye witness account, were heavily armed, and forced their way into one of the compounds. They held the residents hostage as none of the residents dared to come out of the flat, just as the robbers succeeded in removing a Honda car popularly called End- of- Discussion, from the compound. However, one of the residents was able to put a phone call to the husband, who was just on his way home. The husband in turn put a call to the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, who in turn alerted the Barnawa Police Station:

'In fact, we understand that the guy called another Army Colonel, who is in-charge of the Army wing of 'Operation Yaki' and another of his friend, a banker, who lives off Sabo, who in turn alerted the Sabo Police Station. So in just few minutes, the incident was being relayed on the security radio. The situation that might have prompted the robbers to hurry out of the compound, after seizing the car without trying to access the flats one after the other.'

The Barnawa Police Station team, led by the Divisional Police Officer, D.P.O, Daily Sun learnt, acted promptly. But hardly had the police arrived the scene of the operation than the armed robbers escaped with the car and another one snatched from the next street, Niger Street. Police gave the robbers a hot chase, and eventually caught up with the snatched  car, which was abandoned in the middle of the road, on Kaduna- Abuja way, near Peugeot junction.

Meanwhile, nemesis seemed to have caught up with the robbers as the police, the following day arrested two members of the robbery gang on Kaduna-Saminaka Road, after a ghastly motor accident. According to police source, the armed robbers were involved in a motor accident when they were trying to escape in another vehicle snatched from the compound on Niger Street. Two of them were arrested while others were said to have escaped.

Speaking on the incident, one of the residents, who does not want his name in print said 'honestly, in the about two years that I have lived in that compound, I have never witnessed such an incident before. The last time I heard of a similar thing was about a month ago when someone was shot right in front of his gate on this same street.

'But I must commend the police and all those who came to our rescue, including you, who assisted in reaching out to the police. However, I want to single out the Barnawa police station D.P.O for commendation, for using his personal car to go after the robbers. It is rare to find such a display of magnanimity.

'Let also add that my interaction with the police over the incident clearly shows that if the police are given effective and adequate working tools, they will perform wonders. I tell you, in the whole of Barnawa, they have just one patrol van, and even the van, they will have to push before it starts, can you imagine that? I have also noticed that the presence of 'Operation Yaki,' has become less in the metropolis, and when I inquired, I learnt their allowances were no longer flowing as it used to. If this is true, the State governor and all those concerned should please act urgently before these 'bad boys' take over Kaduna.'

Daily Sun gathered that the hitherto peaceful and serene Gambia Street which is about a stone throw from Barnawa Police Station has of late become the target of criminals and armed robbers. It was on the same street that the Area Manager of Globacom, Kaduna, was murdered about a month ago by unknown persons at about 9 pm. The police, at the time of filing this report had not made any official statement as to the arrest of the assassins that killed the area manager.