Robbers kill guard at phone shop in Edo

Robbers have killed a 52-year-old night guard attached to a phone shop on Airport Road, in the Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State.

Our correspondent gathered that Abdullahi and another guard, identified as Austin, were on night duty when the incident occurred in the early hours of Monday.

But the whereabouts of the second guard was still unknown as of the time of filing the report.

The suspected robbers were said to have invaded the premises and tried to gain entry into the shop by breaking one of its windows.

It was gathered that Abdullahi, a father of three from Auchi, attempted to stop the robbers, but was overpowered.

The assailants were said to have bound the victim’s hands and legs and tied a piece of cloth around his nose and mouth.

When our correspondent got to the scene of incident, the corpse of the late guard was seen on the floor.

Passersby also thronged the scene to catch a glimpse of his remains while some workers of the phone shop were seen discussing the incident.

Some sympathisers described the deceased as hard-working and dedicated to his job.

One of the workers, who did not want to be mentioned, said the victim was seen lying lifeless on the premises of the building housing the shop when the workers resumed for business at about 9am.

“I don’t really know what happened. We came here this morning (Monday) to discover that one of our night guards was dead,” the worker said.

Efforts to speak with the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Osifo Abiodun, were not successful.

But the guard’s corpse was later removed by policemen from the Aideyan Police Station.

When our correspondent visited the residence of the late man, his wife said she suspected that something had gone wrong when she could not reach him on the telephone on Monday.

She said, “When I didn’t see him and could not reach him on the phone, I ran to his workplace. I was told that something happened there.

“I tried to go in but I was not allowed. It was when I was told that someone died that I knew it was my husband. They have put me into suffering! Look at me? Where will I start from?”