ABUJA – Residents of Oghara community in Delta have decried what they described as “reign of armed robbers” in the area and urged the state government to intervene.
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They accused the police, the Ethiope West Local Government Council and the community leadership of slumbering and leaving them at the mercy of criminals.
The residents said that the ‘’siege’’ on the community had continued in spite of it being host to Police Divisional Headquarters in the local government area, headquarters of the Nigerian Navy Logistic Command and Mobile Police Squad 51.
One of the residents, Mr Friday Atawe, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone that the robbery attacks on the community started about three years back and peaked in the last few months.
Atawe, who said that he lived in Edjemuonyavwe quarters in the community, said that the hoodlums had robbed no fewer than 30 households and shops in the town since October, 2014.
“The thieves operate in large numbers between midnight and 4 a.m., armed with guns, cutlasses, battle axes and other dangerous weapons.
“They break into homes and shops using concrete vegetable grinders and iron cutters,” he said.
Atawe said that a gang of the robber attacked his premises on Jan. 24, and inflicted huge machete cuts on some of his tenants after robbing them.
He added that since that incident, there had been attacks on people in the community daily.
He disclosed that the police had failed to do something of security in the area in spite of regular reports of the incidents to them.
Another victim, Mr Emmanuel Ochuko, who deals in mobile telephones and accessories, told NAN that his shop was attacked at about 8 p.m. on Jan. 14 by three men armed with guns.
He said that he and four of his customers who were in the shop at the time were shot and stabbed.
“With no help around, I had to give them the N106,150 on me, including some mobile phones and recharge cards valued at N250,000,” he said.
Ochuko, who said that the incident was his third experience in two years, added that he was robbed on Sept. 19, 2013 and Nov. 20, 2014 during which he lost N2 million and N610,000, respectively.
Other residents who narrated ordeals including Mrs Odiri Akoko, a food vendor; Mr Felix Adojor and Tivere Ogharariese, both businessmen.
They accused the local vigilante group and the police of colluding with the hoodlums, saying that if there was no collusion, the boys couldn’t have been operating unchallenged in spite of the presence of police in the community.
“When the robbers strike, we often call the vigilante and police but they will not respond until the criminals are gone.
“Some of the thieves were arrested at one time or the other, but some prominent chiefs in the community got them out on bail,” they alleged.
But, a member of the Oghara Vigilante Group, Mr Benson Ogedengbe, dismissed the allegations as false.
Ogedengbe, however, confirmed to NAN that armed robbery incidents had been rampant in the community.
He said: “Four towns in the area, Edjemuonyavwe, Ovade, Otefe and Ogharefe, the local government headquarters, were affected.
“But Edjemuonyavwe, the second largest town located on the Benin-Sapele Expressway, is worst hit.”
He said the vigilante group was handicapped by logistic challenges, including lack of fuel in their patrol vehicles and non-payment of their stipend.
Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in Delta command, Celestina Kalu, debunked the residents’ claim, calling them liars.
“It is false alarm. If anybody told you that robbers were operating every day in Oghara since October, 2014, that person gave you a false report; it is not true.
“Where did they make the report or entry? It is a pure lie.
“They think they can just lie because they know journalists. Ask them where they made the report,” she told NAN on telephone.
The Chairman of the local government council, Mr Solomon Golley, neither answered calls to his mobile telephone nor responded to SMS seeking his reaction to the matter. (NAN)