The gun battle between a group of
policemen and some armed robbers in the
early hours of Tuesday, October 13, 2015
turned deadly as a woman and her 14-
month-old baby were hit by the robbers’
stray bullets and died.
The Trent had reported that over 20
heavily armed bandits attacked Diamond
and Access banks on 4th Avenue in Festac
Town, Lagos State in a one-hour operation
that has left a tragic trail of blood.
The woman, identified as Mrs. Jane
Ndirieka and her baby were hit in their
house by stray bullets from the robbers
shooting spree. The victim’s neighbours
who spoke with our correspondent at their
4th Avenue flat say that Mrs. Ndirieka was
shot twice, one in the chest and in other
the right shoulder while she carried her
baby. Her baby died on the spot while she
was rushed to the hospital.
Our correspondent exclusively gathered
from investigations at the scene of the
robbery that the bandits arrived on three
boats and berthed at the canal by the fresh
fruits market on the 4th Avenue in Festac.
They divided themselves into two groups.
Access Bank and Diamond Bank are
located between two junctions. Diamond
Bank is close to the 4th Avenue by 5th
Avenue Junction while Access Bank is
closer to the 4th Avenue by 23 Road
Junction. One group of the dare-devil
robbers who dressed in military fatigue set
up a road block at the 4th Avenue by 5th
Avenue Junction while the other team set
up a road block by the 4th Avenue by 23
Road Junction.
Once they blocked the junctions, they
began to shoot sporadically to scare off
residents as they began to break down the
doors of the banks. According to an eye-
witness who spoke with our
correspondent, the robbers also set off
explosives which looked liked bottles at the
scene.
A friend of the victim, Mrs. Jane Ndirieka,
who was present with her in her house
when she was hit by the robbers’ bullets
tells The Trent that Mrs. Ndirieka was first
rushed to a nearby hospital in Festac Town
where she was rejected. All pleas made to
the hospital to treat her was rebuffed. At
this point, Ndirieka had lost a lot of blood
and was losing consciousness.
While on the way to the government’s
general hospital, she died in the car and
was pronounced dead on arrival at the
hospital.
Her baby, who was in her arms when she
was hit by the bullets which passed
through the door and walls of her flat and
hit her, died on the spot. (The sad photo of
the dead baby is in the photo gallery
below.)
Residents say that the police did not
respond to any of their distress calls and
the robbery operation went unchallenged
for close to an hour.
The robbers shot a security guard at
Diamond Bank during the operation. The
security guard (name withheld) was rushed
to a nearby hospital where the hospital
staff who spoke with The Trent confirmed
that he was conscious and an x-ray had
been done to locate the bullet.
According to eye-witnesses, the robbers
who were at least 20 in number, snatched
two vehicles and used them to pack their
loot from the two banks – Diamond and
Access – before making their escape back to
the waterside canal close to the fresh fruits
market where they boarded their boats
and fled.
Almost an hour after the robbers had fled
the scene, the Area Commander of the
Police arrived the scene with his team.
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