Robbers shoot 2, attack 30 traders in Nasarawa

TWO persons were on Monday morning shot, while 30 traders sustained various degrees of injury when armed robbers attacked two 18 seater buses, conveying traders to Assakio in Lafia Local Government area of Nasarawa State.

The unfortunate incident, which happened at about 100 meters to Lafia Central Police Station, took place between 3 a.m and 4 a.m on that fateful day, when traders, majority of whom were said to have come from eastern part of the country to purchase goods at weekly Monday Market at Assakio community.

Witnesses told the Nigerian Tribune that the two traders who were shot were quickly rushed to Dahaltu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH), while injured ones were taken to undisclosed hospitals for treatment.

According to one of the witnesses, the traders were travelling in blue hummer bus with registration number DN 330 PHC and yellow 18-seater hummer bus with UMA265XA to Assakio, a few meters from here, when the armed robbers, numbering about six arrived this Petrol station at about 3.12 a.m.

“These traders who usually come from the eastern part of this country arrive here every Sunday to have a stopover before proceeding to Assakio market early morning on Monday to purchase whatever goods they wanted to purchase. The robbers came in through the back of the filling station and ordered the passengers to come out before they robbed them”, he added.

Another trader, Mallam Ibrahim Abubakar also told the Nigerian Tribune that the two victims were shot because they were struggling with the armed robbers, adding that, the armed men fired into the air for close to one hour and mostly fired at the high tension cable so as to give boom sound in order to scare people away.

He pointed out that the armed men came in with an ash colour golf car and parked behind the filling station before heading towards the Government Science School road, after the operation.

Saleh Mohammed, a Taxi driver who parked and slept in his car close to the scene of the incident also told the Nigerian Tribune that the policemen arrived in a convoy of three hilux vehicles shortly after the operation, which lasted for almost one hour.

One of the residents behind the Petrol station also told the Nigerian Tribune that the armed men only concentrated on the occupants of the buses and watched people as they were scampering for safety, while others hid inside the culverts.

Efforts to reach the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mallam Garba, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was not successful, as his mobile phone was switched off.
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