A shocking incident occurred at Seafortunes Hotels Limited on Ago Palace Way, Lagos, when a group of 15 armed men stormed the premises. The attackers, who wore Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) uniforms and police outfits, arrived with thugs in the early hours of the morning.
The armed men, carrying sophisticated weapons, arrived at the hotel around 4 a.m. last weekend. They fired gunshots into the air, causing fear and panic among guests and staff. The attackers then broke into the hotel rooms, robbing guests of their valuables.
Reports say they were desperately searching for the hotel owner. After keeping everyone hostage for hours, they entered the generator room and used a heavy-duty crane to steal a large power generator. The attackers then fled to an unknown location.
Giving insight into the horrifying experience, the Chief Executive Officer of the hotel, Nwukwa Fortune, said “Last Sunday morning, around 4am, I got a call from one of my customers that some armed men on masks invaded my hotel. They rounded up our staff and security men. They went to the generating set and started dismantling it. They first asked after me, and after they were told that I was not around, they went to the generating set and started dismantling it. They also rounded up everybody including my customers. A neighbor whose car was blocking the access to the generating set was chased to his apartment and manhandled.
“They brought a heavy duty truck and carted away the generating set. From accounts given by my workers, the men that invade the hotel were about 30. 15 of them were wearing NSCDC uniforms and masks while others were touts who initially claimed to be policemen to gain access into the hotel. “I was able to identify them as men of the NSCDC after watching the hotel’s CCTV which recorded everything that took place in the hotel.
“From the investigations so far, we were able to capture one man called Nicholas who once had an issue with the previous manager of this place. The issue has two segments. The first segment was a business transaction involving one Mr Ogbonna, whom this business establishment was leased to. He was remitting a certain sum on a monthly basis. So, when the said Mr. Ogbonna defaulted last year, he was disengaged. The fallout of his disengagement is what we are experiencing now.
“After he was disengaged, creditors started coming to ask for him. One of them is Mr. Nicholas who sells diesel.”
He sold a certain amount of diesel worth about N3 million to Mr. Ogbonna, but Mr. Ogbonna did not pay him before he left the job. After his departure, Nicholas came demanding payment from the hotel. We explained that the management had changed and advised him to approach Mr. Ogbonna to recover his money.
“We showed him the agreement paper between me and the said Ogbonna, showing that Mr. Ogbonna was solely responsible for whatever has happened during the period. He was not comfortable with that. He petitioned this hotel to Area E Police Station. I was invited to Area E. I reported, made statement and explained that I have no hand in the said transaction.
“At the end of the day, operatives at the Area E made me to sign an undertaking to look for Mr. Ogbonna. I mobilized the police to track Mr. Ogbonna. He was arrested and produced before the police. Mr. Nicholas, was asked to come as the person he was actually looking for was in Area E. But he did not come.
“At the end of the investigation, the police, in their wisdom, charged Mr. Ogbonna to court for the unpaid diesel supplied to Mr. Nicholas among other crimes. He was arraigned in court at Apapa. After his arraignment, the prosecutor in charge, invited Mr. Nicholas to court as a principal party and complainant in the matter, he refused to show up.
“After six months, this investigation has all the tenets of a war, an armed invasion, in the early hours of Sunday morning.”
“They used their machine to lift the generating set with its contents into their truck and drove off. While they were shooting sporadically, many customers disappeared without paying their bills. Some lost their phones, some were injured. It was a typical armed attack. Before the men of Ago Police Station could come, the attackers had fled. The operatives from Ago Police Station later came. Fortunately, the CCTV camera identified Mr. Nicholas and his associates. He was arrested and he disclosed where he kept the generating set. He also disclosed the identities of the men of the NSCDC.
When contacted on phone, the Public Relations Officer of NSCDC in Lagos, Seun Abolurin, told our reporter that “If such a thing happened last Sunday, up till now we don’t have report of such in our state headquarters, When people wear uniforms of organizations, it does not mean they are from that particular organization. You should know that people impersonate agencies very well. They should have reported the case to NSCDC in Lagos. It will save him the stress of identification. If they reported the matter to the police, they should write us.”
A source at the Ago Palace Police Station confirmed that the incident had been reported. However, authorities are still trying to verify if the criminals were actual NSCDC officers or impostors. Lagos State police spokesman, David Hundeyin, stated that he would investigate the matter further.
The police have launched an investigation to track down the attackers and recover the stolen generator. Residents and business owners in the area are now calling for increased security to prevent such incidents in the future.
