BY NGOZI OKORIE
A Point of Sale (POS) operator, identified as Ezinne Grace Iroh, has been killed at Ukaegbu Road, in Ogbor Hill area of Aba, Abia State, just about a week after another operator was killed along Market Road, in Aba.
The incessant attacks on the POS operators by hoodlums have become worrisome, especially with the number of victims of robbery and killings among the POS operators. The situation has also forced many of them out of business.
About three gunmen had reportedly stormed the shop of the latest victim, Ezinne, in a tricycle, and caused panic in the area after she was shot, it was learnt.
She was reportedly shot in the chest by the gunmen, while she tried to protect the cash on her from being taken away.
Eyewitnesses said after the hoodlums had shot her, they took the bag containing money, fled with Ezinne’s POS machine, and left her in a pool of blood.
The victim was later rushed to the hospital but died from gunshot wounds the next day.
Operators of Point of Sale outlets in Abia State have, therefore, cried out to the Commissioner of Police in the state to come to their rescue in view of the incessant robbery attacks on them.
In reaction, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu said, “We are determined and have put machinery in motion to arrest within 10 days the few criminals who operate on tricycles.
“For these measures being put in place to have the desired results, I urge all stakeholders including Traditional Rulers, vigilante groups, POS operators and the general public to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies, with whom we had a security meeting in releasing actionable information about suspected characters within our state.
“With the mode of operation of these criminals, it becomes imperative for leadership of Keke operators to purge themselves of criminal elements or face dire consequences.”
