Robbers kill hotel guard

Three yet-to-be identified policemen lost their lives when a group of armed men attacked a hotel at Araromi bus stop along the Igando-Iba Highway.

The policemen, attached to the Igando Police Division, were reportedly taken by surprise, when the robbers stormed the hotel about 2am, on Saturday, September 21.

Sources at Taiwo Alonge Street, where the hotel is situated, told PUNCH Metro that residents were interrupted from their sleep by the sound of gunfire in the middle of the night.

She said, “The hotel is a busy one. Last Friday, the situation was not different. Business went on till late into the night.

“Since this hotel began operating, there have always been at least three policemen guarding the place at night. Although the hotel has its own security, the policemen supervised them.”

PUNCH Metro gathered that the robbers, numbering about 10, had initially driven up to the hotel under the guise of being guests.

However, upon sighting the policemen who were manning the gate, the robbers were said to have immediately opened fire, killing them instantly.

The source said, “This is a residential community, so at that time of the night, most people were already asleep. The hotel was just about the only business around still open to customers. It was the sound of gunshots that woke me up.

“The gunfire went on for some time. We were all scared, nobody could say for sure who was being attacked. It was the following morning that we realised that it was the hotel that the robbers had visited.”

After killing the policemen, the robbers were said to have condoned off the hotel and robbed its occupants of their valuables. The operation was said to have lasted for about 30 minutes.

It was said that no help came from any quarter as the neighbourhood security men were said to be unarmed and the Igando Police Station was some distance away.

Residents of Taiwo Alonge who dared to come out of their homes as soon as the day broke on Saturday, were said to have been greeted by the sight of the three dead policemen lying on the street. The hotel guests were said to have hurriedly checked out.

As news of the attack went from street to street, a huge crowd thronged the scene.

The source said, “From what I gathered, the robbers simply opened fire on the policemen because they were policemen; you know robbers don’t like them.  After killing the policemen, they didn’t shoot anyone else. They only robbed everyone in the hotel and left. No house in this community was attacked.

“In the morning, we all gathered in groups discussing the incident until a team of policemen came and took the dead the corpses away. Since then, we have not seen any policeman come to the hotel.”

The Lagos State Police Deputy Public Relations Officer, ASP Damasus Ozoani, said, “There was actually a robbery at a hotel in the area, but the policemen who were killed were not there to offer private security.

“They were responding to a distress call. Unfortunately, the robbers had laid ambush for them. In the exchange of gunfire that followed, one policeman was killed and another was wounded. One of the robbers was also killed. Investigation is ongoing to apprehend the fleeing robbers as some items were recovered from their deceased colleague.”


Source: Punch