Easy going journalist, Mr. Steve Nwosu and his family had gone to bed after a beautiful day at work and in school by his children. Every member of the household was fast asleep until that ungodly hour, around 2am, when they were rudely woken up. Initially, no member of the family knew that the robbers had already settled inside the compound because they first attempted going in by trying to ‘saw down the burglar proof on the outer window’.
Perhaps sensing that that will consume too much time, and which they didn’t have any way, they went for their sledge hammer. And immediately it descended on the iron protector, the noise and impact woke up everybody. Of course, while some of them waited outside to keep watch, about three of them jumped in. And in a matter of seconds, they were face to face with the Nwosus.
Amidst kicking and beating, the kids became hysterical. But to keep them in check and also contain their noise, they were herded into one of the rooms, locked up and sternly warned to behave themselves or…Trust the children, they immediately complied. After all, those were not known uncles.
Then, they returned to their parents who were their major targets. With threats to shoot and to kill; kicking and slapping and barking orders, they moved to their rooms, on the left side, which they practically turned upside down, stealing this and that and also destroying whatever they considered an obstacle to accomplishing their evil mission. Obviously, they weren’t content with what they got. So, they asked Steve to follow them. Few steps taken, they changed their mind and asked the wife to follow them instead – so that he could go look for money for them!
Having earlier robbed the house before their’s, these men of the underworld, with Mrs. Nwosu, felt they were okay and so it was time to go. And to their speed boat they went. YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine gathered that as if to show its displeasure with their action, the boat wouldn’t work. And as they battled to rectify whatever the anomaly was, some people watching them from afar started screaming thief, thief, thief…which got them so upset that they decided to unleash some gun shots to put them in order and also scare them from coming near.
After about 20 minutes or so, the boat was brought back to life and they sped off with their victim. The Nwosus live opposite a canal, so it was so easy for them to disappear that early hours of the morning. Their street, off Okota Road, has on both sides petty traders who deal on all sorts. The bulk of them however are into sand dredging and selling. A beautiful bungalow, with between three and four rooms, plus what looks like a pent house, it obviously isn’t the most beautiful or even the most expensive on that street – Bale.
Externally, it is coated in cream and green. Internally ,however, more colors were deployed. An LCD television set and some art works and family photographs adorn the four corners of the sitting room. Then, staring at you as you step in are a set of leather settee, combined with two others made of cloth. The dining section is not too far from the latter. A water dispenser, a shell stuffed with different things and then kitchen.
On both sides of the sitting room are the bedrooms – daddy and mummy’s, on the left, and that of the children on the right. Looking ematiated and the opposite of his self when YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine visited on Wednesday, September 16, 2015, Mr. Nwosu told us he can’t wait to have his wife back and in one piece.
Neighbors who spoke to us said they were uniting their prayers with those of the Nwosus for the woman’s safe return. And here are two of their reasons – the Nwosus, in spite of not being the richest on their street, sunk a borehole to ease the water problem being encountered by those who live there. The husband also used his influence to get them a transformer, when the old one they were using started messing up and the residents decided to levy everybody to get a new one.
Thank God, all their prayers have been answered as Mrs. Toyin Nwosu, 40, from Owu, in Ogun State, but happily married to an Igbo man, and a staff of Amuwo Odofin LGA, regained her freedom barely hours later, on Thursday, September 17, 2014. In the happy woman’s first chat with some media people, she thanked God for her rescue and described Him as the ultimate.She also thanked Nigerians for their love, prayers and support all through her time in captivity.