Juliana Francis
November 11, 2013 is a day traders at the Alaba International market, industrial section, Lagos State will never forget in a hurry. It was a day armed men, suspected to be robbers, in broad daylight, numbering over 50, stormed the market, shooting sporadically, attacked people and looted shops.
When the journalist visited the market on November 16, 2013, there was still palpable tension, even though operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) from police command, Ikeja, had swooped and whisked away five among the suspects.
Investigations revealed that five of the men were arrested on the second day after the alleged ‘robbery operation.’
Police authourity are however insisting that the scaring incident, which left many of the traders petrified was a mere ‘breaking and entering,’ not robbery as some of the traders had alleged.
One of the suspects fingered as the ring leader of the gang and identified as Mr. Uche a.k.a Uche Lasisis was sighted in the market the following day and some of the traders quickly alerted policemen. Using Uche as bait, the police were able to arrest four other suspects, including Uche’s younger brother, named as Chizoba a.k.a Garuba.
Some of the traders, frightened out of their wits, refused to speak with the journalist, fearing a reprisal attack from Uche and cohorts. And those who accepted to narrate the horror of that day refused their pictures to be taken.
Many people believed that the ‘robbery’ was not random attack, but targeted at someone. According to many of them, the men actually came to assassinate one Sydney Okorie, Chairman/Chief Executive of Foks Investment Limited, dealers in computers accessories. Incidentally, Mr. Okorie also happened to be the chairman of the Industrial section where most of the lootings and attacks took place.
Apparently Mr. Okorie had been having running battle with some men who were struggling for the leadership of the market with him. Some of the traders claimed that a few minutes after the man fighting over leadership of the market visited Okorie’s shop and left, and then the attack started.
Eye witnesses claimed that the attack started from Mr. Okorie’s shop, after the bandits stormed in and discovering that the man was not around, stole as many laptops as possible. They had also taken his secretary captive. While his manager, narrowly escaped from their clutches.
Another victim was a sales girl, identified as Nkiruka. When the shop where she was working was attacked, the men had demanded for her boss. When she told them he was not yet around, they attacked her with plastic chair and mop. They later dragged her two legs apart and attempted to insert a stick into her private part.
Nkiru’s scream had torn the marker apart, yet nobody dared to confront the hoodlums because they were wielding dangerous weapons.
Just when Nkiru already thought the men would carry out their evil intention, a brave trader, nicknamed Abacha, appeared from the blues, snatched the stick from them and disappeared again, thus forestalling the attack on the lady and probably saving her from a fate worse than death.
Mr. Dike Ugochukwu is the manager of Foks Investment Limited.
He recalled in vivid details, how the bandits charged into the office and how he escaped.
Ugochukwu said: “On that day, at about 10am, some men walked into our shop, asking for our chairman. The men were four in number. Immediately they left, Uche Lasisi came to stand in front of our shop, like a pointer, shouting ‘this is Sydney’s shop! This is Sydney’s shop.’ Uche attempted to lock the door, while some men armed to the teeth with guns, cutlasses, iron rods, axes and sticks stormed into the shop. As they rushed in, I rushed out. I didn’t know what their plans were or what they were after.
“I ran away and left our secretary behind. Immediately I knew I was out of harm’s way, I called our boss and informed what had transpired. After an hour, I decided to check back. I discovered that they had looted the shop of virtually all our laptops.
“I however didn’t see our secretary. Other traders told me that she was taken by the men. I further discovered that they ransacked our drawers, making away with all the money. The money they took was over N700, 000. The new laptops they took are valued at N6 million, while the fairly used ones are N8 million. While I was attempting to locate our secretary, I saw some of the men in another shop, ransacking it. They even started shooting in that shop.
“I quickly ran back. I went home and later received a call from our secretary. She told me that she managed to escape from them after she was kidnapped.”
Mr. Innocent Uzogu, Personal Assistant to Mr. Okorie, said he had no iota of doubt in his mind that the gun wielding thugs were seeking his boss and would have snuffed out his life if they had sighted him.
Uzogu said the attack had a political undertone even though several shops were attacked and robbed. According to him, it was not a coincidence that mere minute after the man struggling for leadership of the market with Okorie came to latter’s shop, ostensibly to give him an invitation letter to Abuja and left that the attack started.
His words: “This same Uche is the Chief Security Officer of this man who had been fighting Okorie. Had it been they saw Sydney that day, they would have killed him! If not, why did they come into the market armed to the teeth, scaring people and shooting everywhere? It’s because they failed to see Sydney that they decided to attack and rob the traders.
“In one of the shops they attacked, they saw a woman and thought she was Sydney’s wife. They even attempted to strip her naked, but her husband shouted that she was not Sydney’s wife. Our customer from Congo was attacked and dispossessed of N92, 000.”
Nkiruka, the sales girl who was almost sexually dehumanised explained that since the attack, she had been having persistent headaches. These headaches had continued even though she had been to hospital and given series of drugs and treatment.
Nkiruka displayed different parts of her body where they had attacked her with plastic chair and mop. They were blackened and blue due to her fair complexion.
Grimacing in disgust as memories assailed, she said: “I don’t even know where to start. I had never seen any of those men except for one. I don’t know his name but I can pick him out from any crowd. There was a day he came to our shop to threaten my boss over something. That was the first and last time that I saw him.
“But on that fateful Monday, I was eating when they came to the shop. They attacked me for no reason. They dragged me by my hair out of the shop and started beating me. My head is presently covered with wounds and bruises. They picked a plastic chair, slammed it on me until it pieces. They also took the mop we used to mop floor to beat me until the mop broke into two.
“As if the attack on me was not enough, they dragged my two legs apart, while one of them attempted to stick a stick into my private part. But a trader called Abacha rushed out, pushed them away from me and snatched the stick and ran away. They took some of our goods.”
Mr. Okorie said he actually did not know why they were looking for him, but he was sure that policemen investigating the matter would get to the root of the matter.
He however recalled how he heard about the assault on his shop. “I got a call that some thugs had just stormed my shop, looking to kill me. I was already on my way to the shop when I got the call. I quickly reversed and left the market. I heard that they took my secretary and looted my shop. The laptops they took is worth over N15million, while the cash is about N3 million.
“People recognised one of the attackers as Uche Lasisi. I also know him. They were between 50 and 70 men that day who came to attack the market. Uche has a shop in the market, he sells clothes, but the shop is virtually empty. He uses the shop more as an office. He has control of some bad boys.
“I don’t know, maybe they attacked my shop because they knew I had just bought some goods on Saturday. I don’t have any problem with Uche. I however have problem with one Emeka and Valentine. If they’re the ones that contracted Uche, it’s only Uche that can say. But I must say that before the attack on that day, Emeka and Valentine visited my shop. They came to drop an invitation letter from Abuja.”
Mr. Oscar Clement is another trader, whose shop was looted. Even though Clement tried to man up and accept he was clearly on the verge of losing his business, tears however filled his eyes as he recalled how his shop was looted.
He spoke slowly and fought the tears from falling down his cheeks and choking his voice.
He said he was standing in front of his shop, waiting for a customer on that day when the bandits attacked. He explained that as soon as he sighted Uche, he knew there was trouble. As they moved like hurricane through the market, they attacked any shop they fancied, breaking anything breakable.
“Everyone abandoned their shops and ran away,” recalled Clement. “I wanted to quickly lock my shop, but I decided to run for my dear life. They beat a customer they met in my shop. They packed all the laptops, both old and new ones. The bags they came with for the laptops were not enough; they now had to go to a woman selling bags to snatch some of her bags. They took my knapsack. It contained my phones, important items and my bible. The goods they took from my shop were worth over N3 million.”
As his eyes further filmed with tears, Clement looked away from the journalist and stared into space.
Mr. Okorie Celestine was one of the courageous traders who stood firm and defended his shop. He said he just couldn’t leave his workers and bolt. As the men stormed his shop, they had pounced on Celestine’s hapless workers, beating them silly. When Celestine could no longer stand watching his workers being beaten, he went to their rescue and got the beating of his life too.
“They just jumped into my shop and started beating my workers. I fought them. I refused to run. When they saw that I was stubborn, they picked five laptops and left. They were thieves! They robbed several people that day!” said Celestine.
Okechukwu Okereke said that they took three laptops from his shop. “I don’t know whether they’re police or armed robbers! The whole incident was very annoying. My problem now is how to recover the laptops they took from my shop.”
The vice chairman of the industrial section, Mr. Emeka Ogbodo also had a bitter douse of the thugs’ medicine. He said that the men, about 50 trouped into his shop just as he was counting money which he wanted to use to pay for his apartment which rent had just expired.
According to him, the money was N564, 000 and they took every dime from him.
He said: “They also took my wrist watch which I bought for N15, 000 and my N27, 000 necklace. They appeared to go crazy, breaking some of the bulbs in my shop. The bulbs they destroyed on that day were about N424, 000. I was beaten up. They dragged me out of my shop and dumped me into the gutter at gun point. They removed my shoes and went away with it. They tore my clothes while I was fighting them to retain my money. They took away my three handsets. I just bought a new one yesterday. They took two Black Berry phones from two of my customers in this shop and all the money in my shop. I reported this at the Ojo Police Station.”
Ogbodo brought out his torn and dirty clothes and singlet from a bag in his office. They were items he was wearing on the day he was attacked.
The journalist also visited one of the shops selling bags, where the men had stormed to snatch bags to fill with the stolen laptops.
The sales girl at the shop, was in a sad mood, not chatty one. Rather than speak with the journalist, she walked calmly into the shop and came out with a booklet, where she had penned down the items taken by the men.
(1.) Five pieces of HP flat men handbag-N17, 500 (2).Jeans school bag-N4000 (3(.Eastland big laptop bag-N4, 500(4) Sports school bag N2, 200 (5) Two pieces of sports bag big-N8, 4000. (6)Machoro Red- N4, 500 (7) HP Flower big size-N4000 and (8) invent laptop bag-N4, 500=total=N49, 600.
Confirming the arrest of some of the suspects, Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, said the case was not one of robbery, but ‘breaking and entering.’
According to her, though police were still investigating the matter but it appeared like the matter was more of power tussle over the leadership of the industrial section of the market.
She added: “The suspects are however claiming that they were framed by the other faction. According to them, this faction that complained actually hid the laptops and now claimed that they (suspects) stole them. We’re however still investigating. It’s investigation that will reveal the truth at the end of the day.”
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