Some hoodlums have attacked a worker with PUNCH Newspapers, Dipo Ojo, on his way home from work.
Ojo was dispossessed of his phone, money and other valuables.
The victim had alighted at the Ikeja Underbridge around 9pm on June 24, 2022, and was walking along Awolowo House to get a bus to Egbeda when the assailants descended on him.
Narrating his ordeal, Ojo said the thugs, numbering five, encircled him as they demanded money and other valuables.
He said, “I couldn’t get a bus to Egbeda around Awolowo House where construction was going on. So, I was walking along. I noticed the thugs were many there. I started walking faster when I heard some of them calling me. Before I knew it, two of them jumped in front of me and held me. They said, ‘Number one was calling you. Why didn’t you wait?’ I told them I was sorry.
“They held me there and others joined. They asked if I was working. I said I was not. They asked how much was in my account, but I said I didn’t have any money. I told them my ATM card was not with me. They said they would give me an account number to make a credit transfer into. About five of them rounded me up while I was in the middle.”
Ojo said the gang threatened to beat him up if he tried to escape or refused to make the transaction.
“I brought out my phone to make the transfer but they forcefully collected the phone from me. They also collected my money and everything I had in my pocket.
“They still didn’t leave me. They took me to where they said I would make the transfer. I thought I was being kidnapped. I tried to protest but one of them threatened to hit me,” he added.
Ojo said the miscreants ran after they sighted somebody coming at them.
He said, “They took me to another bridge not far. As we were walking, I noticed that they started leaving one after the other. Someone was watching everything across the road. He crossed and was coming towards us. That was when the thugs ran away. The guy asked me what happened and I narrated everything to him. He left and I had to find my way home.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, urged the victim to report to the police.
He said, “It has not been brought to my notice. But I am confident that if the matter has been reported to a police station in that jurisdiction, something will be done about it.”
