April 6, 2020:

Abuja-------- Residents of the Nigerian Army Post Service Housing Estate in Kurudu, a suburb of Abuja and surrounding villages have made a passionate appeal to security agencies to help them stop the menace of armed robbers and kidnappers, who operate freely in the area.

The concerned residents complained that gunmen have subjected them to constant harassment due to the withdrawal of military personnel, who provided security for the estate and its surrounding villages when the settlement was commissioned several years ago.

Investigations showed that many of the affected residents have either relocated from the estate or are planning to do so after the latest robbery operation on March 19, 2020, which allegedly lasted for more than three hours and affected several apartments located within Phases 2, 3 and 4 respectively.

Traumatised residents told our correspondent that more than 15 armed men participated in the operation and moved from one apartment to the other dispossessing people of cash, phones and other handy valuables.

A resident, Gloria Nwaogwu disclosed that on the fateful day of the latest operation, the robbers came into the estate at about 2am armed with several dangerous weapons and she appealed to the Chief of Army Staff to save the residents.

“We heard loud noise and I woke my husband up and alerted him to the noise. Before long, the armed men broke into a house on WAZOBIA Street. Even our immediate neighbours were also robbed. We could not see their faces because they wore masks.

“What we experienced here initially were break-ins which happened when people go to work or to church but the situation now is completely different and really frightening,” she said while also calling for the removal of illegal occupants from the estate and the return of soldiers.

Another resident, Edith Igbinedion, who was a victim, said she was still traumatized by what she went through in the hands of the robbers stating that the experience has compelled her to think about relocating from the estate.

“At about 2am, I heard a loud bang on my door and dogs started to bark. As we were calling for help, some of the gunmen entered the house and ransacked the entire rooms looking for valuables like money and phones.

“We quickly surrendered the items we had to them and told them thank you sirs. Surprisingly, they answered us in the affirmative by saying thank you also and left to another apartment. About eight men with different types of weapons came into our apartment but others were outside. We made reports to the police station and were told to make statements.

“It is shocking to me that a military estate should be subjected to this type of harassment regularly by armed robbers. This is why we are calling that the soldiers who were withdrawn should be returned to the estate for the safety of the residents. We cannot depend on the civilian security personnel who are not armed.”

A retired military officer and resident, who spoke on the condition anonymity, asked the military authorities to do something urgent on the insecurity around Kurudu Military Resettlement Estate which houses retired personnel and some former governors.

He also called for the return of soldiers withdrawn from the estate stating that power play and rivalry from resident retired generals for control of the residents association made the estate very porous.

The Supervisor of the Nigerian Army Post Service Housing Estate in Kurudu, Mr. Obed Mathias who spoke for the Chairman, Gen. Ataode, rtd, said some members of the residents association were taken to court for disrupting the peace and unity of the group saying three people have been arrested over recent break-ins within the estate.

Kurudu Divisional Police Officer, DPO, Abubakar Salihu confirmed that there were reports of raids on the estate and surrounding villages but assured that police teams had already increased patrols to beef-up security in the area.