A gang of some suspected armed robbers, last week, shot one person while a custom officer sustained bullet wound during an operation at Ukya village in Kuje Area Council of the FCT.
A witness said the incident happened at about 8:45 a.m. after the policemen on patrol had left a checkpoint at Ukya village, a town sharing boundary with Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
He said the robbers, eight in number, emerged from a bush carrying A-K47 riffles and flagged down an unmarked Toyota Highlander Jeep, whose driver stopped and took to his heels before he was shot by the robbers.
The witness added that the customs officer, also in the jeep, was shot on the right hand.
“The driver stopped, came down from the jeep and started running into the bush and one of the robbers opened fire on him at the back and he fell down,” he said, adding that “the custom official, who was in the jeep, was shot on the hand.”
The deceased driver and the customs officer were indigenes of Zokutu village and were coming from Lagos to the village, when they met the suspected robbers.
It was further gathered that the same gang of armed robbers struck at the same spot, last Wednesday and shot at a vehicle whose driver attempted to escape.
A middle- aged woman in the vehicle was reportedly injured and taken to Rubochi General Hospital for treatment.
Some motorists, who spoke with Newsmen, decried incessant robbery attacks at the sharp bend leading toUkya village, saying the robbers mostly attack travelers during the day and disposed them of their monies and valuables.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Rubochi Divisional Police Officer were not successful as he was said to be attending a meeting at the FCT Police Command.
However, a senior police officer at the station confirmed the killing of one person during the incident, saying a custom officer also sustained gunshot injury.
He disclosed that the robbers struck few minutes after policemen on patrol left the checkpoint.
He said: “We were at the checkpoint throughout the night but we left the area to enable other police officers on duty take over from us. That was the time they struck. The major challenge we are facing here is inadequate manpower and we don’t have functional patrol vehicle.’’
