Dare-devil armed robbers have unleashed terror on some residents in Akure, the Ondo State capital, carting away both cash and foodstuffs.
The bandits, it was learnt, invaded some streets in Ijapo Estate, Alagbaka GRA and Oda Road in the metropolis penultimate week, where they successfully operated for hours, while they ordered the victims to give them more money.
Precisely in Ijapo Estate, Alagbaka GRA, and Oda road, the robbers have embarked on street to street operation, carting away money, phones and food items.
In Ijapo Estate, they bandits reportedly invaded the houses around 1am, and gained entrance into the affected residence dispossessing them of cash and other valuables.
One of the victims told The Hope Metro that they broke the security light bulbs and forced their way into his apartment, adding that after dispossessing him, they threatened to rape his younger sister.
The Hope Metro learnt that in Alagbaka GRA, where the robbers raided about 12 houses, the hoodlums were said to have arrived the lonely street at about 4:30 pm, without anyone around noticing them.
Speaking with one of the victims (names withheld), in his mid 40's, he narrated, "That day was not funny at all. I was at home with my family due to the curfew ordered by the state government.
"Suddenly, I saw five huge men walking behind my security man from the gate towards the building. I wondered who they were. And my wife was in the kitchen.
"As they got to the entrance door, they pushed my security man to the floor and opened the door. Immediately they entered, they ordered me to lie flat as well, with my hands up. And I obeyed them.
"With a very calm voice they asked me to call everyone in my house out to the sitting room. But before I called my wife, she was already coming out of the kitchen with a plate of food in her hand,, which she quickly placed on the table as they gave her a sign to be quiet.
"I called my four children and my house help out and they joined us on the floor in the sitting room.
"Two of them took my wife back to the kitchen, collected all our food items in the store, while their leader requested for cash. And I gave all I had on me, after which they left the way they came in.
He said it happened so fast, like a film.
Meanwhile, the state police command said it has set men on ground to ensure safety of the residence as men of the underworld rake Alagbaka area of Akure the Ondo state capital
The Police spokesman in the state, ASP Tee-Leo Ikoro, assured, "We have sent our patrol teams on ground, likewise men on foot to make sure Alagbaka area of Akure is safe for the inhabitants.
"We are making sure that such do not occur again. It is a sudden situation. But we must be more vigilante in securing our environments''
