Late Sergeant Fidus Joseph Usang, a Nigeria police officer who served with the traffic warder department in Sango Otta, Ogun state, was a victim of armed robbery attack on Saturday midnight, October 14, 2023.
It was a regular Saturday for Fidus and his young family as they set out to rest for the night ahead of Sunday’s church service the next day. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned as a gang of armed robbers stormed his residence in lyana Cele, Sango, Ogun State.
The armed robbery
Sources from his family told Naija News that the armed robbers entered the fenced compound by jumping over the fence. Afterward, they quietly dismantled the window frames and entered into the sitting room.
The sources confirmed Fidus didn’t attempt to confront them since they were about seven in number as he was willing to give them whatever they asked for so that they could leave without hurting him and his family.
Truetells Nigeria gathered that the armed robbers who were with different forms of weapons including guns and cutlasses locked up Fidus’ wife who is nursing a four-month-old child, their four-year-old firstborn, and his mother-in-law who came to help in catering for the newborn, inside the guest room. Hence, Fidus was left with the robbers in the sitting room as he continued to plead with them not to harm him and his family.
Our sources confirmed that before the rest of the family were locked up in one room, the robbers had taken all the phones in the house and every available cash including some other items belonging to Fidus and his family.
Afterward, the robbers left the apartment and locked the entire family inside while they went to the Landlord’s apartment who was a senior police officer. Our sources confirmed that the robbers didn’t waste much time at the apartment of the senior police officer before they shot the landlord dead on the spot.
A man who was living close to the compound was also shot in the head after rushing out from his apartment to confirm what was going on outside.
The robbers left the Landlord’s place without touching the landlord’s wife and returned to Fidus’ apartment. Immediately Fidus who had no access to any defense tools nor a phone saw them again, he started begging and was ready to give them all they wanted as far as his life and that of his family were spared. Unfortunately, the robbers didn’t listen to his plea as they shot him in the stomach and left.
Attempt to Save Fidus
After the armed robbers had left, his mother-in-law and the victim’s wife used a wrapper and a towel to tie the wounded spot to prevent air from entering and minimize the outflow of the blood. Afterward, they ran around the neighborhood begging people who had vehicles to help in transporting Fidus who was still very much alive, to the nearest hospital.
After some minutes, one of the men in the neighborhood finally volunteered to drive the wounded Fidus to the nearest hospital that was said to be running a 24-hour service.
Luckily for them, they located Rubee Hospital Limited, Sango, which was not too far from Iyana Cele in Sango. On getting there around 1 a.m., the doctor on duty (name withheld) told them that he couldn’t attend to the gunshot victim without a police report, according to a statement from the victim’s wife.
The victim’s wife and the man that drove them to the hospital begged for the doctor’s attention but the doctor allegedly insisted that he wouldn’t attend to them without a police report. Even though they explained to the doctor that the victim was a police officer, he allegedly remained adamant and even had to walk away from them.
When it was obvious that the doctor on duty wouldn’t attend to them, the driver had to drive back to Sango Ota and locate a government hospital where Fidus would have been saved. While at the hospital, the first thing they were asked to do was to get the hospital card which they did but before they could finish the process, Fidus had died inside the vehicle.
Fidus Joseph Usang, a 36-year-old police officer passed away at about 5 a.m. on Sunday, October 15, 2023, leaving behind a wife in his 20s, a four year old child, a four-month-old baby, and an extended family who he was reportedly catering for.
The Hospital debunks Police Report Claims:
In a fact-finding mission to the hospital, Naija News spoke with the management of the hospital which allegedly requested for the family to present a police report before Fidus Joseph Usang could be attended to. The management insisted that it was not in the practice of the hospital to ask for a police report before a gunshot victim could be treated.
The contrary stand of the hospital pushed Naija News to call for a meeting with the hospital management, the doctor on duty, and the deceased wife. During the meeting, the deceased wife insisted that the doctor on duty asked them to provide a doctor’s report before any action could be taken.
However, the doctor on duty told Naija News that he didn’t ask for a police report, adding that he doesn’t believe in such a practice. He said he told the people who brought the victim to go to the general hospital because their hospital doesn’t have the facility to “explore” a gunshot wound around the abdomen area.
After admitting that he didn’t bother to check the condition of the gunshot wound and the state of the victim, he said he didn’t bother to check because the people who brought in the victim had told him it was in the abdomen that the he was shot and there was nothing the hospital could do since it doesn’t have the facility for “exploration”.
Police reaction:
The family sources disclosed to Naija News that the armed robbery attack was reported at Ifo police station and on visiting the police station, it was confirmed that the case was reported there but has been transferred to Eleweran Police Headquarters in Abeokuta.
On Thursday, October 19, Naija News contacted the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola over the armed robbery case. After a series of attempts, she informed us that she had not been briefed on the matter and that she was working on gathering information on it.
On Friday, October 20, we also made multiple contacts with her, but she hasn’t responded at the time of filling in this report.
Burial arrangement of Fidus Joseph Usang
The Wake Keep/Service of Songs for Sergeant Fidus Joseph Usang took place in Lagos on Friday, October 20, 2023.