A resident of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja has narrated how he was robbed at Maitama on Saturday.
In a statement made available to PlusTV Africa, the FCT resident said he went for a church programme at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama.
The statement reads:
I went to Holy Trinity Catholic Church Maitama for a programme about 6 pm and I parked opposite the church, along the walkway beside Stanbic IBTC bank where people park their cars. There were other cars parked there at the time.
I came out about 7:30 pm to find out that the left-back window of the car I drove was broken. I had two bags in the car, one had my laptop and the other had my international passport and very relevant documents of which all my credentials were inclusive (I have an international training I was shortlisted to go for and my original documents were required for sighting), both were stolen. I also had two hundred thousand Naira in the car which was also stolen.
I was completely devastated last night. I worship in that church and where I parked last night is where I usually park when I go to church. I have always parked there without worries because there are usually private security guards and policemen who watch over that location due to the assets they secure along that road. For some strange reason, none of them saw or heard anything (even the smashing of a car window).
I went to Maitama police station and as the Standard Operating Procedure of the Nigerian Police, I wrote a statement and wrote a request for a police extract with no interest on their part to visit the location of the crime or to even question the bank security guards who couldn’t care less that a car parked about two steps from their vicinity was burgled. All the police were interested in was the money they wanted me to give them to open a file for me.
I would like to use this opportunity to advise Abuja residents to be very careful and vigilant because the IPO at the station showed me their logbook which indicated that every single day they receive well over 10 reports of this nature in Maitama alone. He also told me about the increased crime rate within Abuja which in his words is unprecedented. Cases of burglary, robbery, kidnap, murder and so on within Abuja has increased astronomically. He told me that on Sunday (three days ago) Dominos Pizza at Wuse 2 was robbed about 11 pm and the workers were in his words “butchered” and one of them died (the manager). He said there had been over five cases of kidnap in front of the same Domino Pizza this year and others in and around Wuse 2 and environs.
As he advised me, I wish in turn to advise residents that no one should leave a single valuable in their cars while parked in unsecured locations and also avoid irrelevant outings at night unless completely necessary and in very secure locations.
