In the early hours of Thursday, residents of Onibueja Estate in Osogbo, Osun State, woke up to find a threatening letter from suspected armed robbers pasted in one of the main gates leading to their homes.
Without mincing words, the robbers informed the residents to prepare for an imminent visit from them.
While narrating the development to FIJ, Kunbi Andrew (not real name), a resident of the estate, said inhabitants of the estate were shocked when they woke up and realised that the threatening letter had been attached to a gate leading to the house of a resident.
“Most of us are now in a panic because of the letter we saw this morning. I am very afraid as we speak,” Andrew said.
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“Early this morning, someone called my attention to a particular letter pasted at the gate of a building that is a stone’s throw from my house.
“I went there and met some residents reading the letter. In the said letter, the armed robbers notified us in advance that they would come and rob us before the end of this month.”
The letter dated October 5, written in Yoruba and sighted by FIJ, reads as follows:
“This is to assure you that we are coming to your community…We that collect money by force from people. Reserve our money for us. We know you have powerful people in your community that apprehend thieves; they should prepare for us. Before this month ends, we are coming!”
Another resident, who also wished not to be named, told FIJ that a couple of other letters with the same handwriting were also found in other parts of the estate.
“As the information circulated round the estate, we became aware that the letters were not only pasted in one place. As a matter of fact, letters of the same kind were sighted at other conspicuous points in the estate as well. This heightened our fears and many of us have had to abandon our plans for the day.
“We immediately sent a team of men to report to the Divisional Police Officer, Ido-Osun, in the morning. While going, we removed one of the letters and showed it to the DPO.
“This afternoon, the DPO led a team to the estate and addressed the residents.”
When FIJ spoke to Yemisi Opalola, the police spokesperson for the state, she denied being aware of the development.
“I have received reports from every division this morning and nobody has ever told me that,” she said.
“I know if they (the divisions) had been told, they would have done something about it. I implore the residents to call me. That is why I always make my phone lines available anytime I go on air.”
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