Armed Robbers Take Over Ogun State
… Invade Obasanjo Hilltop Estate
… Banks Shut Indefinitely

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Dare devil armed robbers and hoodlums have taken control of virtually all activities in the major cities in Ogun State.

For the past three months, residents of the State have been sleeping with one eye opened, while economic activities paralyzed because of daily incidents of robbery cases.

The robbers spare no one as they invade exclusively rich estates and the low class is also not spared.

However, what makes the situation worrisome is the fact that all parts of the State have reports of tears and blood caused by the robbers.

On November 14, 2011, the former deputy speaker of Ogun State house of Assembly, Barrister Ayo Odugbesan sent this text message to yemojanews.com.

‘7 armed robbers came to my Hilltop Estate, Abeokuta apartment at 9pm yesterday. They spent 7 hours; they looted all in the 4 flats and injured my dependants’.

A day after we got the SMS, we were told that another set of robbers went to the same estate and robbed the residents of the immediate past deputy governor of the State, Alhaja Salmot Badru.

The news of the two robberies was very shocking to most residence of Abeokuta, the State Capital, because the estate, known as Obasanjo’s Hilltop estate is expected to be the most secured estate in the state capital.

The Obasanjo Hilltop estate has the residences of top military and police officers, High Court judges and influential personalities in the state.

So, for the armed robbers to have a field day in the estate shows the lack of security in the state.

Even before the Obasanjo Hilltop estate robbery, there had been over 20 reported cases of car snatching at gun points in the state capital and other areas of the state, while robbers also invade people’s homes, carting away several millions of naira and properties.

Few days after the Abeokuta robbery, then came the news that some daredevil robbers invaded the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) Campus in Ago Iwoye with grenades and dynamites to blow up the doors and strong rooms of five new generation banks in broad daylight, in which about 4 people reportedly lost their lives.

 Two days after the OOU bank heist, another robbery gang went to some banks in Sagamu town and carted away millions of naira. Unconfirmed newspaper report says about three people were killed.

Because of the spate of bank robberies, yemojanews.com found out last week that all banks in the state capital were shut to all banking operations. We also learnt that all banks in Ago-Iwoye, Sagamu and Ijebu Ode have also close shop till further notice.

The industrial town of Ota, in Ogun State is also groaning is under the terror of robbers on a daily basis. Residents informed yemojanews.com that since last week Thursday, December 1, 2011, all the banks in the town have also been shut because of the fear of being attacked. But carjacking and house to house robbery is a daily occurrence in Ota now.

Last week, some blocks of flats located near Navy Music School in Ota were raided by about 20 armed robbers. The robbers reportedly pulled down the gigantic fence of the building and robbed all the occupants of the building.

While people were lamenting over what has become the security situation in the state, news filtered around that a popular hotel in Ota, Pine hill Hotel was visited by the robbers while houses near the hotel were also robbed.

Yemojanews.com learnt that security in the entire state has become deplorable and most indigenes are putting the blame on the executive governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

‘It is as if there is no government again in Ogun State. People are being robbed, killed or maimed and the governor is just sitting down in his office or travelling abroad as if it doesn’t concern him. The most annoying thing is that the governor, who is the Chief Security Officer of the State, has not said a word. We only read in the newspapers that he wants to partner with the army.

‘Look at what Fashola is doing in Lagos, all the robbers in Lagos have been flushed out and they are now in Ogun State. Only God will save us because we don’t have government in Ogun State. Armed robbers have taken over’, a senior citizen in the state lamented to yemojanews.com.

Meanwhile, a top government source informed yemojanews.com that governor Amosun has placed order for some Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) and police vans that will be given to the police in Ogun State, but we could not confirm this as at press time.