Robber Loses Hand During Operation At Omoku

By Friday Agi

A tragic drama played out last Friday at Omoku, headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area as a notorious armed robbers lost one of his hands to his victim, following a turn of events which saw the hunter being hunted for.

It was gathered that a gang of seven armed robbers attacked one Emmanuel of No 12 Nwabali street, on Friday, March 8, 2013 around 2.00 am.

The robbers armed with dangerous weapons vented their anger on Emmanuel when he could neither produce money nor very valuable materials for them to part with.

They shot for him eight times but failed to snuff out life from him. A source said this followed after they exchange of biter words between Emmanuel and the men of the underworld.

The daredevil robbers decided to engage their victim in a scuffle which lasted for 45 minutes in order to strangulate him. The victim, Emmanuel ably put up a brave fight and attacked the seven robbers adequately.

Emmanuel ably put up a brave fight and tackled the seven robbers adequately. He in the bid to defend himself bravely dispossessed one of the robbers of a sharpened cutlass and ruthlessly cut off one of the robber’s hand.

The robber quickly raised an alarm and shouted for help from his colleagues who used their clothes to tie the remnant of the hand of theirs critically injured colleague and immediately fled with him.

An eye witness said that while the hullabaloo raged, concerned neighbours made a distress call to the Police and the Joint Military Taskforce (JTF), but none of the security agencies could respond to the call. In the meantime, a 24- hour intensive manhunt for the amputated robber and his accomplices has begun at Omoku.

To this end, we learnt that notices have been circulated to hospitals and private healing homes operating within Omoku and its environs to be on the lookout for the amputee robber.

 A resident of the area who bared his mind on the situation said the attack may have been carried out by some bad boys who usually operate along Atasia, Osere, roads and Victor Mazi street, in Omoku Town.

The source added that hoodlums had earlier on Thursday, March 7, 2013, vandalised the armoured cable supplying electricity to a community adjacent to Omoku Town, thereby plunging a substantial part of the town into darkness.

The source expressed worry that the vandalisation took place at a point about 2 metres away from JTF checkpoint along Obrikom road.

The source also that the vandalisation may had been masterminded by the hoodlums to ease their nefarious operations in the wee hours of the night.

Meanwhile, residents of Omoku town have expressed concern over the incessant vandalisation of electrical installations in the town, while the security agencies and the Agip Oil security contractor remain helpless.

They called on the security agencies in the area to brace up to the challenge and stop armed robbers and other criminal elements from operating impunity.