Residents of Oko Oba in the Orile Agege area of Lagos on Monday night, thwarted an attempted abduction of a local businessman, causing panic in the community.
According to the PUNCH four men armed with guns and cutlasses robbed a pharmacy on Ogundele Street. After robbing the store, they tried to kidnap the owner, Samuel Oshanugor, in his car.
A resident, James Alade, who witnessed the attack, said, “The gunmen dragged the owner from the shop into his car that was parked outside, but the tyres got stuck in a bad portion of the road when they tried driving it away.”
Lawrence Olawale, the pharmacy manager, explained that he had closed the store and was heading home when he heard about the robbery. “I ran back towards the store and raised the alarm alongside other residents,” Olawale said. “When the Acura car got stuck, we observed that they couldn’t drive it out, so people who were aware of the development were already close to them but they could not move close to the armed men because of their weapons. But they began throwing stones and bottles at them. Three of them eventually fled while the fourth person who was monitoring people’s movement was overpowered by the men in the area.”
The incident, which lasted about 15 minutes, ended with the arrest of one suspect. Angry youths beat the suspect before handing him over to the police, who arrived later.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, could not be immediately reached for comments. However, Ofem Bassey, the Abbatoir Police Station Officer, confirmed sending reinforcement to the scene. “I called my people (officers) to go there for assistance. I called the DPO, and he met them,” Bassey said.
Videos from the scene show police officers taking the suspect away and residents gathering in front of the pharmacy on Monday night.
