Incessant robberies worry Lokogoma residents

Some residents of Lokogoma in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have decried incessant robbery attacks in the area, calling for increased police presence.

A taxi driver, Segun Adekunle, said some group of armed boys robbed him and his passenger.

“I am still taking some drugs to reduce the pains I got from the beating they gave me. It was such a shame that criminals should be kings in Lokogoma. I will never pick any passenger going to Lokogoma again, except police presence is felt in that area,” he said.

Another victim, Nneka Nnodim, said she had been hearing about robbery attacks in Lokogoma but had not experienced it until that Friday evening.

She said the robbers stole her iPad, two blackberry phones, and a handbag containing her wallet and N80, 000.

She pleaded that police should increase their presence at Lokogoma, adding that she is still psychologically traumatised by the incident.

A banker, who simply identified himself as Alfaki, told our reporter that robbers raped one of his neighbours, saying he escaped by the whiskers as they also shot at his vehicle.

“The police came after they had robbed my neighbours and raped a woman among them. Since then, I have refused to sleep in that compound,” he said.

A source at the Apo Police Station told our reporter that the police at the division lacked manpower, explaining that armed robbers that visit the estate have more sophisticated weapons than the police.

The source also stated that the number of police officers they had was not enough to curb all the crimes in the area.

When the Apo Divisional Police Officer, Chief Superintendent Wilson Dakwano was contacted, he confirmed the story but said: “The crime rate in Lokogoma is at a low level compared to what it used to be.

“Before now, robbers used to attack residents four to five times every Friday. It has reduced because we don’t sleep. These are skeletal robberies, and we are doing everything within our powers to make Apo crime-free,” he said.