Rights activist, comrade Mark Chigozie has called on the Lagos State Police Command to fish out those behind the armed robbery attack on Guardian Correspondent, Odita Sunday.
Odita was ambushed by armed bandits on Sunday night in front of the Guardian Newspapers on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and made away with his valuables. Odita was said to be on his way home after work when the incident occurred.
Sequel to the attack, the Comrade Chigozie, called on the State Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, to ensure that his men rid the state of crime and to fish out the bad elements in the State.
Speaking in an interview with Cornerstone news, Chigozie said, following the rising cases of violent attacks, cultism and incessant police killings, he has decided to draw the attention of the police high command to the upsurge in crime in the state.
Chigozie said: ” President of the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria ( CRAN), Odita, was attacked last Sunday in front of the Guardian corporate office at Toyota, Oshodi Apapa Expressway. Odita and two of his colleagues had closed from their official duty and we’re going to where his car was parked when they were accosted by about five armed men”
Odita who narrated his ordeals said:” When I noticed that the unwanted guests were armed, I rushed inside the car, but they hit the driver’s side window and warned that I must part with what I had on me. I quickly threw my phones inside the vehicle, started the vehicle and tried to zoom off but one of the bandits grabbed my front breast pocket, tore it and stole the money and other things in it. They yanked off my side mirror and broke my window glasses and started pursuing my vehicle with dangerous weapons.
I thank God that I escaped from the scene because there was no police presence in the area. It would have been worse, if not for the miraculous intervention of God “.
Chigozie wants t the police to fish out the hoodlums who attacked Odita: ” It is my resolve and that of the good people of Lagos that the police should intensify patrol on dark spots in the state, especially the Oshodi Apapa Expressway. In the time past, there used to be Armored Personnel Carriers ( APC) at the spot that Odita was attacked and other places. I don’t know why the APCs have disappeared. The Rapid Response Squad ( RRS) used to be visible on the roads, but I don’t know what actually went wrong that the operatives are no more as visible as before. Just recently, the Acting Chairman of Lagos Fire Service and five others were kidnapped.
We were jubilating that Kidnapping and bank robbery were things of the past, but the hoodlums have returned in full force. Odita’ s case is one of the many cases of named robbery attacks in the State .” I want to call on the Commissioner of Police CP Zubairu Muazu to expedite action in the war against crime and criminality in the state. Lagos used to be the safest state in the country. Let the CP work with his deputies to know the strategy the former police Commissioners used to do the magic to ward off criminals in the state “.” I want to commensurate with Odita and the entire CRAN. You people should not be discouraged because of what happened. You should continue to be diligent your duty as crime reporters. I understand how sensitive your job is. Moreso, you should be careful with your day to day dealings “.
