By Kamsi Anayo
Gunmen on Friday afternoon went on rampage in Awka, the Anambra state capital.
They robbed tricycle drivers at Regina Caeli junction at Keke park by Enugu -Onitsha expressway.
They also robbed POS operators at Eke-Awka axis and collected the operators money and phones.
During the robbery operation, at Regina junction,the gunmen suspected to be members of one of the cult groups in Awka , stole phones and money from the tricycle drivers and passengers.
According to an eyewitness who would not want his name in print “The gunmen stormed the tricycle park with tricycles armed with guns and ordered all the drivers and passengers to lie down and collected their money.
“Those who carried the operations are suspected to be cult boys from Awka.
“The park has been paying some amount to certain individuals every week and the park operators had not paid since this January. I don’t want to name the big people collecting the money.”
Also another source said they had been paying N30,000 every week to some people who he refused to also identified.
According to him,the attack followed their inability to pay for some weeks now .
He said they were at imminent danger in the park and called on the state government to help them in the fight against cult attack in the state capital.
The eye witness said the state government claimed to have stopped touts in the state, regretting that instead the touts were regrouping to terrorize the commercial tricycle operators every day.
The source said,”The state government claimed to have formed anti tout outfit to fight touting and others but these touts have change strategy and they are still terrorising Keke operators.”
In a similar development, armed men robbed POS operators in Eke Awka and made away with their mobile telephones and money.
One of POS operators said she lost N860,000 to the robbers.
All efforts made to get reactions from Anambra State Police command proved abortive as all phone calls and messages to command spokesperson DSP Tochukwu Ikenga were not replied.
