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Raymond Ozoji, Awka
A member of staff of Fides Communications Okpuno Awka was robbed at gun point on Sunday evening about 6.40pm on her way from evening mass.
The attackers who were dressed in Army Camouflage shirts and were on motor bikes, pounced on the journalist and robbed her along Regina Caeli junction Awka, the Anambra state capital.
Her attackers compelled her to stop, molested her, snatched her phone and ransacked her handbag for money.
The journalist who narrated her ordeal in the hands of the marauders, said she pleaded that she was returning from the church and had only paper with information she wanted to use as news report in her bag.
She pleaded that her attackers should set her free and leave the papers containing the information for her news story and take the bag so she could write her news but her plea fell on deaf ears.
Residents are concerned that crime has returned in the state and that Onitsha has become threatened by men of the under world again.
Another female journalist who pleaded anonymity and resides in Onitsha, said Upper Iweka axis was no longer safe like it was when Governor Willie Obiano took over.
She said the area had become very porous and people were now robbed even in spite of the bright street lights on.
According to her, “Last Saturday, I was returning from training at the stadium and saw a young girl being robbed on top of the flyover. To my utmost shock, policemen were just there collecting 50-50 naira from motorists and those boys on Okada collected her bag, searched it and sped off.
“They didn’t even look her direction even though people were insulting them after the dare-devil boys sped off and the poor girl was devastated and in shock.
“In Awada where I live, the Obosi boys are at it again. People are robbed everyday. Car batteries are still being stolen everyday.
“Sterling Bank and UBA opened an ATM centre along Oraifite street, just after ABS. These boys patrol there every minute. Please, our security is no longer assured as it was.”
She therefore implored the police in Anambra state to be more proactive and responsive to crime fighting to restore the confidence of the citizenry in their operations.
Meanwhile the Police Public Relations Officer of the Anambra command of the Nigeria Police SP Haruna Mohammed said the police were working assiduously to maintain a crime-free society in the state and that the command had apprehended and paraded suspected criminals truncating the peace and tranquil atmosphere in the state.
According to him, the police will not faulter in their statutory responsibility of protecting life and property in Anambra and that the public should assist the police in crime prevention through useful intelligence report.
