Suspected armed robbers yesterday invaded the Lagos home of Vanguard publisher Sam Amuka, injuring him and carting away cash and some items.
The raid was the second on Amuka’s home in about two years.
The invaders allegedly hit the octogenarian with an iron rod. He was rushed to a private hospital.
Ten suspects arrested in connection with the attack are being quizzed at the Special Anti-Robbery Sqaud (SARS), Ikeja.
Detectives were said to be screening Amuka’s private guards, domestic staff as well as all the the estate’s security personnel.
It was gathered that the criminals stormed Amuka’s Anthony Village residence at about 1:30am after scaling the high fence.
They were said to have broken the burglarproof on one of the windows.
They smashed the ceiling leading to his bedroom where he was found and ordered him to bring ‘the money’.
The Nation gathered that the criminals overpowered and tied the private guards at Amuka’s compound and held them hostage for over 45 minutes.
According to one of the guards, after tying their hands and covering their faces, four of the armed men went into the building, leaving one to watch over them.
The guard said: “I was on a chair at the entrance gate when I saw five young men moving from the wall close to the gate towards the house. I accosted them but they subdued me and my mate.
“They tied our hands and covered our faces while one of them kept watch over us at the gate. Other members of the gang went inside the house only to come out about 45 minutes later and ordered us to unlock the main gate.
“As soon as we obeyed them, they left the compound and we heard the screeching of tyres of a car zooming off.”
An employee with the Vanguard newspaper, who usually brought dailies to the publisher’s house claimed that he saw an ash colour car sped off as he approached the main gate to deliver yesterday’s dailies.
It was learnt that efforts by the Commander, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Tunji Disu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), to apprehend the criminals were unsuccessful because all the gates leading to Amuka’s place were locked.
Disu, who was the first policeman to arrive at the scene with his men, were said to have contacted the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at Anthony, Chima Agha, a Superintendent of Police (SP) to create access, but the bandits had fled before that was achieved.
The Police Commissioner, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, who arrived at the scene much later and also visited ‘Uncle Sam’ at the hospital, assured that the culprits will be fished out and prosecuted.
