Some armed robbers have invaded the Ajah home of comic Nollywood actor, John Okafor, aka Mr Ibu, stealing his property.
The victim, who was away at the time of the incident, was said to have left behind his wife, grandmother, housemaid and children, who were sleeping when the hoodlums struck.
The assailants gained entry through an opening in the house, which was under renovation.
They were said to have held Okafor’s relatives hostage as they took time to steal cash sums in the house, as well as 12 wristwatches, laptops, phones, jewellery, shoes and clothes, among others.
The Punch learnt that the assailants took away all the ATM cards in the house, after forcefully obtaining the PINs from Okafor’s wife.
The incident was said to have been reported to the police at the Ajah division.
Okafor’s manager, who wants to be identified only as Chochoo, confirmed the robbery to Punch on Monday, adding that it occurred around 3am on Saturday.
He noted that although nobody was injured, the assailants emptied the house of all valuables.
He said, “He (Okafor) was renovating his house and the burglar-proof bar that was not fixed that day was where they came in through. Twelve wristwatches, money, all the phones and laptops in the house, shoes and clothes were stolen. I cannot place a value on the stolen property; just three of the wristwatches are worth N6.5m. They broke into his room as well. They took everything in his room.
When it happened, we had travelled to the east for some New Year social functions. I guess those people knew none of the men was around. His wife, children, grandmother and maid were at home. The robbers were more than six in number.
“They took the wife’s ATM cards and forced her to release the PINs. Since they left with the phones in the house, she does not have anything to get debit alerts. We have blocked the accounts today (Monday). But since the incident happened on Saturday and banks don’t open on Saturdays and Sundays, we don’t know what could have happened in the intervening period.”
Chochoo said that although suspects had been arrested based on some blurred black and white images from the Closed-Circuit Television cameras in the house, their culpability had yet to be established.
He explained that the primary concern of the family was the recovery of the stolen property.
Okafor was reported to have said that he suspected that the hoodlums were hired to kill him, adding that they asked for his whereabouts during the one hour attack.
He also reportedly said the N1m cash meant for the renovation of his house was stolen.
He valued four of the 12 stolen wristwatches at N8m, saying the others cost between N300,000 to N500,000.
The comic actor added that his wife’s gold and jewellery were stolen, noting that four phones he left in the house were taken away.
Lagos state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti, confirmed the incident, adding that two of the suspects had been arrested.
He said, “Two of the suspects were arrested by our men from the FESTAC division, who were on patrol at the time of the incident. Two others escaped. The suspects have been transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, while investigations are ongoing. Efforts have been intensified to arrest the fleeing suspects.”
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