By Stanley Onyekwere
As the FCTA Operation Sweep Abuja makes the city centre very hot and uninhabitable for miscreants and hoodlums, have seemingly relocated to communities at the fringes – invading households and terrorising residents as well as dispossessing them of their valuables.
It was gathered that since the miscreants are being dislodged from the city centre, residents in communities around satellite towns now sleep with one eye open as the miscreants now operate in far to reach locations where they now perpetrate robbery activities freely.
Checks revealed that the worst hit is the Kurudu through Kpeyegyi to Gidan Daya and Gidan Mangoro, up to Orozo area of the FCT.
Consequently, many residents in communities are now crying out for urgent action to tame the trend, daily subjecting them to nightmarish experiences.
Painting a vivid picture of the ugly trend in the affected axis, a lady who didn’t want to be named recalled that in the early hours of last week’s Monday night, miscreants, numbering about 15 stormed Zone D, Gidan Mangoro community, popularly known as Angwan Mada.
She said: “They robbed house to house moving room to room. They broke our burglar proofs and windows in some cases and entered our houses.”
Similarly, another victim, who also pleaded anonymity for security reasons said the criminals wielded machetes, small axes, iron cutters, sledge hammers and other dangerous weapons.
He said when they couldn’t remove his door, they broke the window and gained entry, while that was going on, he said he was so scared that he ran out through the back door, threw his daughter over the fence at the back and jumped the fence and ran into a nearby bush where he and his daughter hid till the day broke before they came out.
He said sustained injuries on his legs, but his daughter of about 17 years who was unhurt, remained traumatised for a long time.
Another victim, (who doesn’t was name on print) while narrating his ordeal said that they collected his and others phones, ATM machines and cards as well as money from them and any other valuable that was handy.
He said the attack on the community was the second in one month, adding that the houses they visited in their first visit were not attacked during the second visit.
Another residents, a lady who also pleaded anonymity, said the “bad boys” came to their area in Orozo.
She said they were so many, about 50 in number, armed with dangerous weapons.
According to her, they were dispossessed them of their phones, money and any valuable in the operation that lasted for about three hours.
She added that the criminals took their time to search through room to room, “ the confidence they came with, it’s like they knew nothing can happen,” she said.
She said by privilege she called a Police officer in the Head quarters, instead of responding, the officer sent her a number and asked her to contact the number, she couldn’t because she was already traumatised and that they were at that time breaking her door already.
“They had enough time to go room to room in the area and left when they were fully satisfied and done,” she said.
Also, one Godwin Arase narrated ordeal od many residents in an estate along the Orozo – Karshi road in Gidan Daya, located opposite a popular drinking joint, called Forest near the famous Loyola Jesuit Collage.
Arase noted that they used sledge hammers to break their burglar proofs and pulled down their doors and windows to gain entry.
He, however said the Gidan Daya robbery was too sophisticated for miscreants. “ They shut sporadically in the air, they over powered our security men at the gate and robbed us with ease. They took their time to attack house to house, they collected money, ATM machines, jewelries and any thing they wanted. It is when they left that the Police sirens blared the air,” Arase narrated.
When asked if any official complaint was made, he said they didn’t see the need since a police station was near and they responded late.
However, the consensus was that security agencies should up their game at night, intensify night patrol in these areas and other communities, even if it’s to scare the robbers so that they can have some respite.
They also called on Operation Sweep Abuja not to concentrate only in the city centre as the hoodlums are now giving them sleepless nights in communities.
However, speaking with the Director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, had during one of the raids of Operation Sweep Abuja, assured that the team was committed to ridding the FCT of the activities of these miscreants, so they will touch all identified notorious spots and flush them out.
