A member of a three-man robbery gang met his waterloo last Sunday when he was caught by residents of Egan in Igando area of Lagos State and lynched.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the
gang laid siege to Moshalashi area of Egan about 2 am on that day and
later went to Fatoki area of the same community where they attacked the
apartment of a retired soldier.
The robbers reportedly raped the
pregnant wife and 70-year-old mother of the retired soldier. Another
young woman was also reportedly raped in the house.
A resident, who pleaded anonymity, told
our correspondent that news of the robbery circulated around the
community as it occurred that early morning.
“We learnt that they put a gun to the
head of the man as they raped his wife and mother. But I think the man
must have resolved to fight back in the face of being killed because we
heard he struggled with them.
“Two of the robbers escaped while one
was caught. No one is sure who caught the robber. It might be the Odua
People’s Congress vigilante operatives,” the resident said.
Our correspondent could not confirm the
veracity of rape claims as the house where the rape allegedly took place
was locked when our correspondent visited the place.
It was learnt from other residents that
the community woke up to see the burning body of the suspected robber,
who had been decapitated.
The body of the alleged robber was put
on display at Fatoki Junction until last Tuesday when it was removed by
council officials.
When our correspondent was making
enquiries about houses attacked by the robbers at Fatoki, an okada
rider, Shina Aliu, took him to a friend of his, whom he called Yusuf.
“They also attacked Yusuf’s house. They
beat him mercilessly after robbing him,” he said. But Yusuf instantly
denied it. “Nobody robbed me,” he told our correspondent.
Aliu later said his friend did not want to speak because he was afraid.
Many residents of the area showed the same level of resistance when our correspondent attempted to ask them about the incident.
Our correspondent was told that they feared police arrest because the residents resorted to “jungle justice.”
A member of the community development
association in Fatoki, told our correspondent, “This place is robbed
regularly not because the police are powerless, but because the nearest
police station, Igando Police Division, is far away.
“You can see the road around here as
well, how will the police access this place easily if they are to come
to our rescue? This area is almost inaccessible.”
A police source at the Igando division told our correspondent that nobody from the area had made any report about the robbery.
Our source said, “All the report we got
was that there was a corpse lying on the road suspected to have been
that of a lynched robber. Nobody would say who he was and nobody would
say he saw anything.
“There was no single lead for us to go
on with. We have even invited some people with the hope of getting some
information to help us. Nobody said anything. We later informed local
government officials who went to remove the body.”
Residents put the age of the alleged robber at between 25 and 30.
PUNCH
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