Female POS operator disarms two robbers in Benin

A courageous female Point of Sale (POS) operator, identified as Ann, has reportedly disarmed two robbery suspects in the Uhogua community in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State.

Uhogua community, located down the Upper Siluko Road end of Benin City, plays host to the Home for the Needy International Christian Centre which houses no fewer than 3000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP).

PREMIUM TIMES learnt on Tuesday that Ann operates a POS shop by the entrance of the IDP camp.

It was learnt that the robbery suspects, who were armed with a locally made pistol, had stormed the POS shop and initially pretended to be genuine customers but the POS operator immediately sensed the danger that they had come to rob her.

A witness, Obukohwo Omatshola, who disclosed that the incident happened at about 4pm on Monday, said on entering the POS shop, the suspects brought out an ATM card and requested to withdraw N200, 000.

He added that while the POS woman was about to commence the process of certifying the money in the ATM card, the suspects brought out the locally made gun and ordered her to surrender all the money she had to them.

But through bravery, Mr Omatshola continued, the POS operator smashed the gun from the hand of the suspect and raised the alarm, which attracted some security operatives around.

He said the two robbery suspects identified as Andrew Adubu and Destiny Olu were later handed over to the police.

“The two suspects identified as Andrew Adubu and Destiny Olu rode on a motorcycle to the POS shop. Before they were handed over to the police, they confessed that were trying to raise money to take care of family needs during the ongoing Yuletide,” Mr Omatshola said.

Items recovered from the suspects include one locally made pistol and an unregistered motorcycle.

When contacted, Chidi Nwabuzor, the state Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed the incident.

Mr Nwabuzor said police operatives had been placed in strategic positions across the state to deal with criminal elements.

He warned criminals to relocate from Edo or be faced with a strong police onslaught.

“We are calling for effective collaboration from members of the public towards crime reduction in Edo State,” he said.

He said the suspects would be prosecuted as soon as investigation was concluded.