Robbers kill Supersports employee while withdrawing from ATM

An employee of Supersports, Kunle Fajugbabe, has been killed by armed robbers in the Bariga area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the deceased had gone to withdraw money from an Automated Teller Machine at a Wema Bank  branch located on Jagunmolu Street around 11.30pm when he was attacked by the robbers.

It was learnt that the 38-year-old indigene of Ekiti State was shot.

The assailants were said to have also snatched Kunle’s Mazda salon car and fled, leaving him in a pool of blood.

It was learnt that policemen attached to the Bariga Division, who were on night patrol, saw Kunle’s body and took him to the station before his family members were contacted.

The police were said to have taken him to the Gbagada General Hospital where he died two hours later.

Our correspondent, who visited the family home of the deceased at a one-room apartment on Ososa Street, Bariga, on Saturday, learnt that he was survived by a wife and three children.

Kunle’s wife, who identified herself only as Mrs. Fajugbabe, told our correspondent that her husband’s car was recovered three days later in the Ogudu area of the state.

She said, “My husband was on leave when the incident occurred. He left the house that evening and a few hours later, I was informed that he had been shot. He passed away a few hours later.

“My husband was a technician at Supersports, and as you can see, life has not been easy. I have three children to feed, my oldest child is just eight years old while the youngest is a baby.

“I am presently unemployed and I would be happy if anyone could help me in securing a job so that I can take care of these children.”

It was learnt that the deceased had been buried.

A police report obtained by our correspondent from the Police B Operations Department read, “On December 30, 2013, around 11.30pm, while on vehicular patrol at a spot near Wema Bank, Bariga Branch, one Kunle Fajugbage was found in a pool of blood where he was shot by unknown persons.

“The victim was rushed to the Gbagada General Hospital for treatment. The following day, around 9am, the victim’s relation, one Toyin Ademurele, came to the station and reported that the deceased gave up the ghost at the hospital while receiving treatment.”

The deceased’s wife said there was a need for the police to curb the incessant robberies in the area.

Meanwhile, PUNCH Metro learnt that Kunle’s death is just one among many which has occurred in Bariga and its environs this year.

Our correspondent, who also visited Somolu, learnt that robbers had been terrorising residents for the past one week.

It was said gangsters and robbers in the area had maimed many, while no fewer than four persons had died in the past three weeks.

PUNCH Metro learnt that last week, a youth was cut with machete in front of First Bank, Bariga branch.

Residents told our correspondent that there was need for the state government and police to curb gang-related activities in Bariga and Somolu.

A landlord in Somolu, Michael Apata, told PUNCH Metro that the robberies were being perpetuated by known cult members in the area and wondered why the police were doing nothing about it.

He said residents were living in fear and urged the government to intervene as series of petitions written to the police had yielded no fruit.

He said, “The same set of hoodlums are terrorising both Bariga and Somolu. For three consecutive days, armed robbers have continued to attack us. Just today, one Rasheed was arrested after he and others had robbed 54 Apata Street, Somolu.

“Prior to that, in the wee hours of Wednesday, the hoodlums had robbed a two-storey building at Moshalashi Street. A house on Apata Road was robbed while a beer parlour at Dabira Street and a house on Bailey Street as well as another house on Alafia lane, all in Somolu, were robbed.

“These robbers move in droves and are sometimes as many as 100 and many among them are teenagers. They rob from house to house. They usually come from Fadipe and Ajose streets and after every operation, they disappear.

“What surprises us residents is how almost 100 gangsters will move at an ungodly hour and evade the police.”

The state command’s spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, confirmed the robbery attack on Kunle.

She said, “The family members said they didn’t want a case. But despite that we have recovered the car and it is parked at Ogudu. The police are still looking for the assailants.”