How I survived robbery attack along Abuja-Lokoja highway — Kogi monarch

The Ohi of Adavi in Kogi State, Muhammad Ireyi Bello, has shared a recent experience with armed robbers along the Abuja-Lokoja highway.

Mr Bello, who was returning from the intercessory prayers held in Abuja for a deceased member of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Suleiman Kokori, ran into an ambush of highway robbers at Magajiya village.

Bello Otaru Abduljafar, a nephew to the monarch, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Friday.

Narrating how he escaped in a Daily Sun publication, the king said that the armed robbers ambushed him and others while his car slowed down to pass through a bad portion of the road.

He said heavily armed men in black attire suddenly jumped from the bush into the road and were firing at his car from various directions.

“It took the sheer courage of his driver to miraculously manoeuvre the car through the rain of bullets without any of the occupants sustaining injury but a minor damage to the car,” the monarch was quoted to have said.

Mr Bello however lamented the recent upsurge in banditry and armed robbery attacks on the highways, attributing it to the dissolution of the notorious police unit, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) without a replacement.

“You don’t scrap a whole system because of little defects, especially where there is no immediate substitute,” he said.

He however appealed to the federal government to intensify efforts in ending insecurity and provide a substitute for the disbanded SARS.

The police unit was disbanded in October following a series of protests against police brutality which gained global traction.

After its disbandment, the police authorities announced the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) squad as the replacement. However, the force is yet to deploy the SWAT as the officers are currently undergoing training.

The high rate of banditry, kidnapping and terrorism continues to be a challenge that remains undefeated despite government’s intervention.