Now Muzic boss, Efe Omorogbe, as you read this story is thanking God for sparing his life after surviving a daring armed robbery attack that could have gone for a scene from a Hollywood movie.
The Artiste Manager, who manages hip hop sensation, Tuface Idibia, revealed that after the operation which lasted almost two hours, he was dispossessed of his X3 BMW SUV, laptops, I-pads and an undisclosed amount of money, including his wedding ring.
Speaking with Entertainer, Efe, as he is popularly known, said when he woke up on that December morning, he had no idea danger was lurking around the corner. “I had no idea something like that was coming at me. It was just like any other working day. I had a good day at the office and was headed home to be with my family,” Efe recalls.
Traffic jam
As usual in Lagos, vehicular traffic is always a major challenge for commuters. December 5, 2011 was no exception as all routes to Otta, Ogun State, where Efe resides were jammed to the hilt. What’s more, an auto crash on the ever busy road had compounded the situation.
“I left Lagos for home but the traffic jam was out of this world. My normal route home was blocked due to an accident so; I had to look for an alternative route. It was around 8:30 pm when I finally found an opportunity to do a U-Turn,” he says.
Attacked
According to Efe, as he was making the U-Turn close to Otta, a car rear-ended his BMW! “I thought that it was the normal stuff we see every day in Lagos traffic. Someone hits a car from behind and he’s coming out to check out the degree of the damage. But before I knew it, three guys armed to the teeth had leapt out of the vehicle that hit my car. I had scarcely recovered from that when another car pulled up by my side obstructing me and blocking any hope of escape. The next thing I heard was gunshots as the robbers opened fire and people scrambled for dear lives.”
Shocked
For about 60 seconds, Efe was shocked and rooted to his seat. “For almost 60 seconds, I thought it was a dream. Despite the gun shots and people running for dear lives, it did not quite dawn on me that I was about to be robbed and beaten. But lo and behold, I was surrounded by a gang of gun totting robbers, shooting sporadically. They ordered me to step out of the car, which I quickly did, and four of them got into my car.”
Hostage
Efe thought the robbers would just snatch his car and let him be, he was wrong. As soon as they got into the car, they forced him face down into the back seat cursing, kicking and hitting him with the butts of their guns. “I was scared! They threatened to kill me unless I told them the security code of the car. I told them there was no security code but they wouldn’t believe me. They warned me that if I didn’t tell them they would shoot me there and then. I was in a dilemma and kept praying. I tried to reassure them that there was no security code and that I was telling them the truth. They did a u-turn and we drove off. They forced my head to the ground and pressed the cold nuzzle of a gun against my head. I lost all senses of direction. They drove very fast, the road was bumpy and I was scared the gun on my head could accidentally go off; it was scary.”
At that point, Efe says images of his wife and kids flashed through his mind and all he wanted was to get home safe and be with them. “I started pleading with the robbers, ‘you guys can have anything you need but I just want to go back to my family in one piece.’ Honestly, all that mattered to me was my wife and kids. I told the robbers they could take the car and whatever they wanted but they should please spare my life. Nothing mattered more than my family and I just wanted to be with them.”
Conditional freedom
After driving around for over an hour, the men of the underworld were finally convinced that Efe’s car did not have a security code. So, they decided to let him go but on one condition, he would run straight into the bush without looking back. “They stripped me of everything I had on me; my shirt, my trousers, my singlet and even my wedding ring. I was left in only my boxers. They told me that once they stop, I should jump out of my car, and run straight into the bush. They warned me that if I tried anything funny I would get a bullet in my back. As soon as the car stopped, they let me out and I fled straight into the bush!”
Freed
After waiting for a while and listening carefully to make sure the robbers were not coming back for him, Efe made his way out of the bush. Luckily, he was not hurt. Recounting his first moments of freedom, he said: “It was around 10 pm and everywhere was dark. I wasn’t even sure in which direction I should walk. I was on a desolate road that seemed to lead to nowhere. I tried to get help but nobody in his right senses would stop to help a naked man on a lonely highway at 10 pm. I chose a direction and started walking. I walked till I saw a school and a church. I knocked and knocked but there was no reply. I noticed a building nearby that was not fenced. So, I carefully walked towards the house and as I approached, I could hear the sound of a TV and I realised that they were watching TV, probably a football match. I knocked and a kid opened the door, saw me and ran to call his dad who came to my help. I told him my story and he was very sympathetic. The last time I spoke to my wife was just before the robbers struck. Then I was less than 20 minutes away from my house. Now, it was over two hours and I knew she’d be apprehensive. She probably would have been trying to call me. He gave me a phone and I called my wife to tell her that I was okay. My host gave me a pair of trousers, a shirt and a pair of slippers. He was my angel. The gentle man then took me on his motor bike to a junction where I got a bus to my house. He even gave me N200 transport fare.”
Police angle
Has the car been recovered? “Not yet,” Efe says, “and I am not getting a good feedback from the police either. When I got to the police station and reported the robbery that night, I thought the police would tell me not to worry that my car would be recovered but that was not the case. As soon as I told them that my car was stolen, they told me that ‘oga, no worry, just take it easy, God will give you another one,’ But I thank God everyday. Right now, I am beginning to appreciate my family and the gift of life more. I am beginning to look at life differently though, I have been realistic and always known that the things we read in papers don’t happen to ghost but real people like you and I. I have friends who were robbed and ended up with permanent injuries while some were even shot dead. Anything could have happened that night and I could have been shot and dead by now. The robbers could have driven into a police checkpoint or run into a police patrol and panicked; anything could have happened. I think I was very lucky. I think the robbers liked me. There have been situations when people were pushed off cars, shot and lost their lives. I thank God I am alive to tell the story.”
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