Armed robbers lay siege to Onitsha –Kill vigilance group boss

Posted by admin Anambra, Headlines, State News Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

The numerous activities of armed robbers have increased in the commercial city of Onitsha in recent times as the men of the underworld have held residents and traders of the city under siege for the past one week.

Daily Sun gathered that gunmen suspected to be armed robbers have been terrorizing the residents and traders of Onitsha main market, killing and dispossessing unsuspected members of the public of their money and other valuables.

The incident, it was gathered had sent the police back to the drawing board on how to stem the rising tide of armed robbery attacks that had rocked the city since Sunday evening as not less than four robbery attacks had been witnessed in the city in three days. According to Daily Sun source, the robbers attacked a Total petrol station along Awka Road, Onitsha between 2.00am and 3.00am yesterday morning and stole gallons of engine oil estimated at about N700, 000 before breaking the company’s vault and made away with about N800,000.

It was gathered that the armed robbers came to the station in two buses and parked outside the petrol station before going inside the station to start their operations. The source further disclosed that when the security operatives at the station wanted to find out their identities, they were over powered and were tied to an electric pole at the station before carting away drums of oil.

According to the source who pleaded anonymity, “After parking the oil inside the buses, the robbers broke into the manager’s office where they broke the safe and took all the money there which was about N800,000.” The source narrated. In a related development, another group of armed robbers, Tuesday afternoon, killed a vigilance group boss and critically injured another member of the vigilance group.

It was gathered that the robbers had successfully robbed a bureau de change office along Menax road in the commercial city when they ran into the vigilance group. The robbers were said to have operated with motor bikes and were escaping through the New Cemetery road when they saw the unsuspecting vigilance group in their patrol vehicle and opened fire on them.

The leader of the vigilance group was said to have died on the spot while another member of the group who was critically wounded was rushed to an undisclosed hospital where he is responding to treatment. When contacted, the Onitsha Police Area Commander, Larry Osita, who confirmed the incidents said that the Police were on top of the situation.

He said the Police were out to provide adequate security to the city and urged the residents never to hesitate in giving out infromation on any suspicious movements arround their areas.

-Sunwp_posts