A businesswoman, Uduak Oluyede, has been shot dead by gunmen who robbed her bakery on Adetola Street, Aguda, in the Surulere area of Lagos State.
It was gathered that 37-year-old Uduak was alone at her shop when the robbers invaded the premises and shot her in the stomach while trying to dispossess her of her valuables.
After perpetrating the crime, the robbers, numbering about three, were said to have escaped on a motorcycle.
The injured baker, while bleeding profusely, reportedly rushed to a co-tenant’s shop, identified as Ify, who volunteered her vehicle to rush her to a nearby hospital.
Ify said that Uduak died at the Randle General Hospital.
She said, “We were at the shop when we suddenly heard a gunshot. But when I stepped outside, I could not trace where the sound of the gunshot came from. Suddenly, we saw Uduak bleeding as she ran into my shop and said we should rush her to a hospital.
“I was totally shocked and could not drive; so, I pleaded with my mechanic who was around to drive her to a nearby hospital where they stopped the bleeding. The doctor said the case was beyond them and referred us to the Randle General Hospital.
“When we got there, they demanded a police report and her husband to sign. So, I quickly rushed to the Aguda Police Station on Soloki Street and pleaded with the policemen to follow me to the hospital so they could commence treatment on her.
“A policeman was writing the report in the car as we were rushing to the hospital. When we got there, she had been placed on drip and oxygen, but she died.”
Uduak’s husband, Femi, while lamenting the death of his wife, said the armed robbers operated at two other locations in the area.
The auditor explained that the police had yet to track down the suspects, adding that the gunmen, after carting away his wife’s property including her phones, withdrew N100,000 from her bank account.
The 40-year-old added, “I just returned home when neighbours from my wife’s shop came to my house to inform me that she was shot by armed robbers. They said she had been taken to the Randle General Hospital and I quickly rushed there but met her dead.
“Three armed robbers did the operation; one of them was on the motorcycle while the two other robbers got down to rob her, as she was alone at the shop. She was shot in the process and she died at 9.17pm on January 30, 2022. Her corpse has been deposited in a mortuary.
“The most painful part was that when they rushed her to the Randle General Hospital, they were saying they needed me to sign instead of them to commence treatment immediately. We had two boys and I have informed them that their mother is no more.
“Aside from Adetola Street, the armed robbers also robbed on Enitan Street and around First and Mobil Fuel Station. We reported the case at the Aguda divisional police station, but I have not seen any action from the police. We want the state Commissioner of Police to intervene in this case.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, confirmed the incident.
He said, “The case is under investigation. Serious efforts are being made to apprehend the perpetrators of the act. We are hopeful that in no distant time, the culprits will be arrested and brought to justice.”