The peace of Douala Street in Wuse Zone 5 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was shattered on September 8, when robbers attacked a guesthouse that belongs to the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), All Saints Church.
It would be the fourth time the guesthouse, located directly opposite the church building (undergoing renovation at the moment), would be robbed.
A member of the church, who pleaded anonymity, said the incident occurred at 3:00 a.m. on the said day, when a group of robbers came from behind the guesthouse where a stream runs through. Though the facility is fenced, with barbed wires, the robbers gained access to the premises through the generator house.
Due to past experiences of such attacks, the church decided to engage policemen who teamed up with hired security men from a private security outfit to secure the place.
Apparently, this did not did deter the robbers, who, it was gathered, descended on two police officers on duty that day. They were believed to be asleep when the robbers attacked them; landing heavy blows on their heads with planks and then tying them up before dispossessing them of their service rifles, which they went away with.
The robbers also manhandled and tied up two other private security men before they left. The phones and other valuable items belonging to the policemen and security men were also taken away. However, they could not gain access into the guesthouse, like on previous occasions.
It was learnt that the names of the security men were Joshua Upi and Vincent Ejeh, while the policemen, Sergeants Joseph Bande and Iwara Samuel were in the process of being promoted to the rank of Inspector following completion of a course in Kaduna recently.
Following the incident, the FCT Commissioner of Police and the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Wuse Division had visited the guesthouse for on the spot assessment. The two private security men had since been taken to the Wuse Police Division. They were subsequently handed over to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, while the policemen that were injured in the attack were taken to General Hospital in Wuse where they were treated and discharged.
Investigations revealed the two security men were still in custody of SARS at Guzape at the time of writing this report, while the policemen are being detained at the Wuse Police Station.
The source at the church, said the security men, who had been detained since the incident, were under harsh conditions and efforts were still on to secure their release. “The police said they remain the principal suspects until they recover the riffles stolen during the operation”, the source added.
The policemen, who sustained serious injuries on their heads and still under detention, were allegedly paying for their own medical bills, as they await orderly room trial, it was reliably gathered.
It was gathered that the two rifles collected from the policemen were last week, recovered in Kaduna where the robbers had gone to operate but were arrested by the police. A source said they were arrested and confessed their involvement in the church guesthouse robbery.
With the rifles recovered, the source said the church authorities expect that the security men would be released as development has shown that they were innocent victims of the attack.
Narrating the robbery incident in the church, the source said, “Two policemen were attached to the church while two were also attached to the guest house to help us. The robbers successfully attacked the policemen because they were asleep. They were hit with plank, which resulted in serious head injuries and they went away with their rifles. A day after the attack, the Commissioner of Police and the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Wuse Division visited the guesthouse for on the spot assessment.
“They took the two security men to Wuse Police Division and they were later handed over to SARS while the policemen that were injured were taken to General Hospital in Wuse. “
“The armed robbers came in through the back of the hotel building. The building is properly fenced with barbed wires but they were able to find their way into the building through the generator house. In all the previous attacks, the robbers came in through the back. There is a stream behind the fence and most people tend to see the stream as a no go area but the robbers still managed to attack the guesthouse from there.
“During the last incident, they dispossessed the security men of their handsets and other valuables. This last time, they were unable to access the guests who were lodged inside but during the previous attacks, they robbed guests of their belongings.
“In the previous attacks, even the Bishop who was also inside, was dispossessed of his belongings and even left naked. They collected laptops, handsets and even television sets. They also removed the teeth of one of the security men who was on duty at the time. They also collected about N70,000 from the reception. Most of the security men had just collected their salaries that day and they were robbed of everything”.
Divisional Police Officer of the Station was not on seat when The Nation visited, but he was evasive when reached on the phone for comments. “I don’t know. I don’t know”, he said, and hurriedly switched off the phone.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the FCT, Anjuguri Manzah, said the matter was under investigation but he would not make any further comments.