One Mrs Caroline Anande, a widow with seven children
has narrated how her younger sister was shot in the mouth by armed robbers, to Sun newspaper.
Read the report below:
Geri
could not talk to us, but could only write down responses relating to
the incident, because her tongue was almost cut off, her mouth terribly
wounded by bullets robbers shot at her mouth.
She could not turn her
head either because the bullet hit part of her neck.
to suck up saliva that drips uncontrollably from there.
She indicated
that they had lived in the same area of Abuja for over five years.
Geri’s trouble further burdens her elder sister whose late husband was
buried just three months ago.
“My heart is heavy, I am heartbroken looking at my sister lying in
pains, she was supporting me immensely with the little income since my
husband died. We had been managing to cope with our lean resources
until armed robbers surfaced to wipe sleep away from our eyes.”
work, though she left at 5am that morning, because of the daily traffic
on the Nyanya-Mararaba express But she couldn’t get to Abuja-Keffi
expressway to board a bus that will convey her to town that day.
“My sister testified after regaining consciousness on a written note,
how a masked armed robber snatched her phone and handbag. Thereafter,
commanded her to undress, she pleaded with them, they were two men the
unmasked man was behind backing them while the operation was going on.
But, they shouted at her to undress amid her pleas explaining that she
was menstruating. But these evil agents insisted on raping her
loud in fear for help, and that angered the armed man wearing mask that
shot a bullet into her mouth and vanished, leaving her unconscious and
bleeding.
“In fact, I was devastated seeing her helpless on the ground. Sincerely I
thought she was already dead with the quantity of blood on the ground
and on her body from heavy bleeding. I remain thankful to God and my
neighbours who assisted to take her to the Nyanya General hospital where received initial treatment to revive her before she was referred to the Maitama General Hospital where they told us that her was affected by the shot and her tongue almost chopped off.
in the incident, their neighbours and especially Ahmed Musa, presenter
of the Brekete Family radio programme that aired story of Geri’s
encounter.
“The Brekete Family supported us with N100,000 which he paid to the hospital himself to ensure my sister’s urgent treatment. We have been going to the Gwagwalada General
Hospital for medical treatment. Though, I am facing the challenges of
feeding and transportation, because my sister until this unfortunate
incident was the bread winner of my family. I am a widow with seven
children without any source of livelihood. And she is still living with
bullet inside her body. The hospital said a surgery to remove the
pellets would only be possible after the wound in her mouth healed. We
believe God for her healing and the possibility of financial provision for the surgery.”
During our visit, Geri managed to scribble on paper a call to people to assist her in prayers and make monetary provision to enable her pick the medical bills and undergo the surgery to remove the bullets lodged in her body.
“I need assistance relieve my sister’s burden, she is unemployed and not engaged in any form of trade,
because of financial incapacity to cater for her seven children, who
are also not attending school. I call for help from anybody that cares
to see me through this predicament.”
same area explained the level of insecurity in their community and how
bitter he feels about Geri’s condition.
“In fact, it is a tradition for us to leave this community as early as
4:30am to our places of work in the city because of the terrible traffic
on the Nyanya-Mararaba road.
We have local security outfits that
guard the area at night till 5am leaving us to our fate for the day. The
need to leave very early for work is what mainly exposes us to security
risks on the way and that is because we need to leave that early to
escape the traffic jam on the way.”
Another resident Adak Sabo, a road safety marshal also spoke with Abuja Metro the insecurity challenges and traffic problem.
“In fact, the traffic problem exposes us to risk of riding on bike on
the expressway in the morning to get to our places of work on time.
Geri’s incident has become a restraint on me not leave that early
again.”