‘I prayed as the robber placed his gun against my cheek’

A mother of four has narrated how petrified she was when she woke up around 5am and discovered three gunmen in her one room apartment at Odunfa Street, Ebute-Meta, Lagos State.

The woman, Mrs. Bunmi Ajiboye, who said her husband was not around on the fateful day of the incident, explained that immediately she clamped eyes on the menacing looking men, she had thought of how to protect her four kids and her kid sister, Ope.

She said: “I have four kids. They are two boys and two girls. The first is eight years, the second five years, the third is three years and the last is a year old. I was scared my kids would wake up. I didn’t want the men to turn on them. In fact, so many things flashed through my mind.”

The incident occurred on June 12, 2015. The bandits had seized the opportunity of the public holiday to swoop on the residents in the area. The robbers took her money and phones.

Just as the robbers left Ajiboye’s apartment, they noticed that her neighbour had stepped out of his apartment to switch off his generator. They sneaked up on him and pointed their guns on him. They compelled him to walk them into his apartment. They took their sweet time in robbing him. They made away with over N200, 000 and carted away the man’s wife’s jewelry before biding him a cheery goodbye.

Ajiboye said: “The time was exactly 5:35 am. It was on a Friday. The three men entered my apartment armed with three pistols. I was asleep when I heard their footsteps. They were pussy-footing. They didn’t want me to hear. Perhaps they wanted to rob and leave before I woke up. I thought the footsteps were those of my kid brother.”

Ajiboye explained that her brother had left earlier, leaving the gate to the apartment open. It was this open gate that made it easier for the armed men to gain entrance into her home while she was still sleeping.

“I was sleeping when my brother got up to take his bath. I however didn’t know when he left the apartment and went to work,” said Ajiboye. “He told my sister, Ope, that he was leaving.  Ope went back to sleep without shutting the gate. Aside from the gate, the door to our apartment was also left ajar. I guessed that was how the gunmen entered.”

When she turned from the other side of the bed to know whom had entered, she saw the three men. She froze.

She recalled: “When I saw them I was shocked! I tried to rise, but they ordered me to sit. They pointed their guns at me and asked how much I had in the house. I couldn’t speak, but quickly handed over my handbag to them. The handbag was close to my bed. They took my money and phones. One of the men placed his gun against my cheek and used it to begin to caress my cheek. I was scared and I prayed. He asked me where I kept the rest of the money; I told them that all I had was in my handbag.

She continued her narration: “As I continued to feel the cold nozzle of the gun on my face, I prayed in my heart. I prayed and reminded God of his promises and covenant to his children.”

While the robbers were still operating, Ajiboye’s one-year-old daughter, Ireoluwa, suddenly woke up, plunging her mother into further worry and anxiety.

Ajiboye recounted: “As they ransacked the house, searching for money and other valuables, they threw things haphazardly. My little daughter, unaware they were bad men, just kept picking up items the men flung around in their quest. They asked me the whereabouts of my husband; I told them that my husband was not in Lagos.”

She further recounted: “At a point, I heard a voice from outside. It was then I knew they were not three but four armed robbers! The man outside said that they should be at alert because a man was walking towards them. It was at that point, they left my room. Immediately they left my room, I quickly locked the door from behind. It was from my room that I saw them going over to handle my neighbour as he stepped out to switch off the generator.”

The neighbour, unaware robbers were in the neighbour hood, sneaked up on him. They accompanied him into his own apartment, pointing guns at him.

Ajiboye added: “The robbers wouldn’t have had access to my neighbour’s apartment if he had not stepped out to put off his generator. Although the robbery was unexpected, at a point I stopped experiencing fear. Maybe I had made up my mind that what will be, will surely be!”