Residents
of Baale Street in the Ago Palace Road, Okota, Lagos State, say the speedboat
used by the robbers, who also abducted Mrs. Toyin Nwosu, the wife of the Deputy
Director of The SUN newspapers, Steve Nwosu, broke down for about 20
minutes before it eventually worked.
The
abductors were described as robbers by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police,
Mr. Fatai Owoseni. They raided the neighbourhood on Monday before escaping with
the DMD’s wife.
Some
of the residents, who spoke with PUNCH Metro, said the robbers could
have been apprehended if policemen had immediately responded to distress calls
and arrived at the area during the delay.
This
is just as the robbers were reportedly still insisting on N100m ransom before
they would release the mother of four, who was allowed to speak with the family
on the telephone on Tuesday.
PUNCH
Metro had reported that the robbers, who
stormed the area at about 2am, dispossessed residents of their valuables,
before making away with Toyin.
It
had also been reported that the robbers escaped in a speedboat through the
Amuwo Odofin Canal.
When
our correspondent visited the area, a woman in one of the houses raided by the
robbers, pointed to the bullet marks on her house walls, saying the gang forced
her and other tenants to the front of the house and ordered them to lie down,
while their money and phones were carted away.
She
said, “The first obvious sign of trouble was the persistent gunshots. The
robbers entered this house and ordered all of us to come outside. They asked us
to prostrate and started to empty our purses. We were about 10 tenants.
“After
taking our phones and money, they said we did not have enough, and they began
to trample on our bodies. They hit my husband with the butt of the gun. It was
after they robbed us that some of them proceeded to the director’s house.
“When
they eventually left us, a man from the far end of the street started to shout
‘thieves, thieves’. They were mad and began to shoot sporadically. In that
confusion, they hurried to their speedboat, but the boat did not start. They
were delayed for about 20 minutes. But no policemen arrived at the scene at the
time.”
Another
resident, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, added that during the
delay, the police could have clamped down on the robbers successfully.
He
said, “This area is under the Ago Okota Police Division, and the police would
have been able to get at least one of them. The robbers started their boat, but
it did not start on time. They were there for some time.
“There
was a man who kept on shouting ‘thieves, thieves’ from a distance. The robbers
were embarrassed, and they began to shoot in his direction, but he was not
hit.”
Meanwhile,
a source close to the Nwosus told our correspondent that the family had been
able to speak with Toyin, while negotiations were ongoing to make the gang
reduce the N100m ransom.
He
said, “Yes, as of Tuesday afternoon, the gang had not reduced their demand, but
the family is still negotiating with them. The robbers have allowed the family
members to talk with the woman.”
The
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joe Offor, said the police got
to the area only at the time the residents put across the distress calls,
adding that efforts were ongoing to rescue Toyin from the kidnappers.
He
said, “I do not want to disclose much information, but the police are still on
the investigation. The policemen only got to the area at the time that the
residents put across the distress call. This is because the police are not
spirits.
“This
is why we talk about community policing so that the police can respond on time
to avert a situation from getting out of hand. If the residents had got across
earlier, the police would have also arrived earlier.”
He
added that the police was not aware of any negotiation between the family and
the kidnappers.
He
said, “I cannot confirm that the family members are negotiating with the
kidnappers. The part of the police is to investigate. Any other move is without
the knowledge of the police.”
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