By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The social media space was agog during the week following the emergence of a Close-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage that exposed a well-organized and coordinated robbery operation in part of Awka, the Anambra State capital.
The eye-opening incident, which reportedly occurred around the ever-busy Kwata Junction axis of the city, was captured in a 3-minute-10-second video that has since gone viral on social media. The footage clearly shows how the suspects seamlessly carried out the criminal act in broad daylight and fled the scene unchallenged.
In the trending video, the victim was seen parking his vehicle along the axis before trekking across the road for reasons not captured in the footage.
Moments after he walked away, another vehicle believed to have been trailing him arrived at the same location and parked a short distance from the victim’s car; and then two men alighted from the vehicle and began hovering around the parked car, carefully avoiding suspicion.
Although their faces were not clearly visible in the footage, the suspects were seen pretending to make phone calls, while one of them intermittently attempted to open the driver’s door of the vehicle using what appeared to be a spare key. After an initial unsuccessful attempt, the suspect briefly retreated and continued hovering around the car while also feigning a phone conversation.
Seconds later, he returned to the vehicle and made a second attempt, which succeeded as the driver’s door opened without resistance. The footage then captured the actual robbery, as the suspect quickly entered the vehicle and removed a nylon bag containing items believed to be freshly withdrawn cash.
Immediately after shutting the door, their own vehicle, which had been parked since quickly pulled closer; and the suspects swiftly entered the vehicle and drove off, bringing the operation to a seamless end.
The robbery was described as highly organized and professionally coordinated, such that other road users and even a nearby man who was arranging crates of beer at a shop close to the scene appeared completely unaware that a criminal operation was taking place just beside them.
The incident and the corroborating video have expectedly triggered a chain of reactions and counter-reactions on social media. While many netizens strongly condemned the suspects and the criminal act, others blamed the victim for what they described as carelessness, especially considering the value of items left inside the vehicle.
On the contrary, some netizens also faulted nearby road users and the shop attendant for what they described as a lack of security consciousness, insisting that greater alertness might have disrupted the operation.
Watch the video below:
