A five-man robbery gang on Monday raided an MTN outlet, off Marian Road in Calabar, Cross River State.
The armed robbers, who shot sporadically into the air for almost 30 minutes to scare off security agents, succeeded in dispossessing customers and workers of their money and other valuables.
Southern City News learnt on Tuesday that a mobile policeman from the Rivers State Command, who was simply identified as Sunday, was attacked while being attended to by an MTN employee.
An eyewitness, Mosun Adeoye, said an unidentified worker in the MTN office was shot at a close range.
She said, “A mobile policeman was inside the MTN office when the robbers struck. He was in the outlet to secure a welcome back SIM when the incident happened. He was shot several times and his rifle snatched from him. The policeman is from the Rivers State Police Command.
“An employee in the MTN office was shot at a close range. The bullets penetrated and passed through her abdomen and came out from the back.”
Adeoye, however, noted that the staff had successfully undergone surgery at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital but had some of her vital organs damaged.
“The operation was successful but some of her vital organs were affected. She might be fine eventually,” she said.
It was learnt that the robbers snatched a Toyota Sienna bus from a lady, with which they escaped with their loot.
In another robbery on Tuesday, the wife of a police Bureau de Change operator, identified as Suleiman, was attacked while on her way to deposit money at the bank.
The incident happened along the Murtala Mohammed highway at about 3pm.
A source said, “Mrs. Suleiman Offiong was going to deposit money into the bank when she was attacked on the highway in broad daylight. No security personnel came to her rescue when the incident happened for almost 10 minutes.
“There had been series of robbery attacks recently in Calabar. The situation is becoming alarming and we have police everywhere and yet nothing is happening.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relation Officer in charge of the command, Irene Ugbo, said no arrests had been made, but added that the matters were being investigated.
