The Auchi Incident: An 'Ember' Curse in Action? [With Photos]

The robbery invasion that took place in Auchi, Etsako West Local Government of Edo State on Monday from about 6 pm is no doubt one of the most violent and destructive robbery operations that has happened in a long time in Nigeria; it all looked like a scene out of a violent thriller.

This was a robbery operation embarked upon by bandits armed with both guns and explosives, it was so violent that the community thought there was a war going on in the area.

The Robbers were said to have come in three Toyota Camry cars and a bus. Though a report said that they were 50 in number, I doubt that three cars and one bus would carry 50 people.

Three banks were said to have been targeted in the rampage (GT Bank, Ecobank and Access Bank) but only pictures of the destruction of GT Bank and Access Bank were caught on camera. The Auchi Divisional Headquarters of the Nigerian Police was almost reduced to nothing as it was bombed into a total wreckage. The whole place looked like a war zone.

The Access Bank Building

The destruction on the Access Bank building.

An ATM Machine blown out of the wall on the Access Bank Building

The GT Bank Building

The Police Area Commander, Mr. David Jimwan was said to have reported that though the Police buildings were destroyed, the robbers did not succeed in breaking into their armoury. I'm wondering if that is any news; what would robbers who came with more sophistacted weapons want with Police armoury? Then Mr. Jimwan was also reported to have said that his men succeeded in repelling the fire power of the robbers during the attack.

That sounded funny. With the nature of this attack and destruction, the police would have more or less taken to their heels rather than stand and fight. Besides, it was reported that the robbers succeeded in killing about 10 people. The Police did not even succeed in wounding a single one of them. Are they sure they really returned fire?

A wider view of the destroyed Police building.

Side view of the Police buiding

A patrol vehicle destroyed in the attack

Another affected Patrol vehicle

However, this robbery incident is an indicator of the coming festivities of Christmas and passage into the new year. As these events draw near, cases of robbery are usually on the rise. Its seen as one of the curses of the 'ember months' - the Naija urban legend that from the months of September to December, more terrible things happen and more people die, most of which are attributed to road accidents.

May we not see such again!



Images Courtesy:
www.saharareporters.com
www.nairaland.com