A four-man armed men reportedly robbed a provisions shop at Abule in the Elepe area of Ikorodu, Lagos State, around 9.48pm on Sunday.

The 15-year-old shop attendant, Nduka Nwagbala, from Ebonyi State, was said to have been shot in the hand.

His brother, who is the owner of the shop, was said to have travelled to Ebonyi State, while his other brother, who lives not too far away, was said to have taken the victim to the hospital for treatment.

The four-man gang was said to have fired shots in the air to scare passersby as they carried out their operation in the shop.

An eyewitness, who identified himself simply as Ndubuisi, said the incident was like a drama as he had gone to the shop to buy some items but he and the shop attendant were ordered to lie face down by the robbers.

He added that the robbers collected the cash, which he had wanted to use for shopping.

According to him, some residents, who got wind of the robbery, called the police, who did not respond to the distress calls on time.

Ndubuisi stated,

“I went to the shop, which belongs to one of my brothers, to pick up some items. Less than two minutes after I got there, some young men walked in.

“Initially, we thought they came to buy some goods. One of them brought out a gun and asked us to cooperate. We did not quite understand. So, Nwagbala told them that he did not understand why they asked us to cooperate. They shouted at Nwagbala, telling him that they did not come into the shop to play.

“One of them brought out a pistol from the pocket of his jean trousers and shot Nwagbala in the hand. They ordered us to lie down and took the little cash on us in addition to the one they got from the shop’s till.

“Residents called the police when they got wind of the incident. The police did not respond on time.”

A resident of the area, who identified himself simply as Bayo, said when he heard of the robbery, he quickly contacted other residents, who had the police number.

He explained that they contacted the police but were surprised that the cops did not show up until much later after the operation.

Bayo added that armed robbers seldom operate in the area but wondered if those who came on Sunday acted on a tip-off.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Elkana Bala, said many people, who usually claim to have called when in distress, did not often call the police emergency line but their police friends.


He stated,

“Did they call the police friends, whom they know or did they call the emergency line? Don’t claim you have called the police if you have called someone, who is off duty and can’t respond; he is not under obligation to respond instantly. Some of them might have been transferred from where you know them.

“But if the residents call our emergency line, there must be a response. If it is our emergency line that they call and the police did not respond, we won’t tolerate it.”

Source: https://www.mediahelm.com.ng/2019/03/robbers-shoot-15-year-old-shop.html
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