Good Samaritan Saves Robbery Victim

Two armed robbers who mistook two black carrier bags stuffed with packs of snacks for money, ended up shooting an innocent man in the neck.

The victim of the attack was, however, rescued by a good Samaritan who quickly rushed him to the 37 Military Hospital where he underwent an emergency operation to save his life.

The 43-year-old victim, Mr Mohammed Amin Jibril, is the co-ordinating officer at the School of Nursing College of Health Sciences with clinical supervision over students on internship at the 37 Military Hospital.

Narrating his ordeal to the Daily Graphic on his hospital bed, Mr Jibril said around 11.30 a.m. on July 21, 2008, he went to Accra Central to get some snacks for some examiners who had gone to conduct practical examination for the student nurses.

He said the snacks he bought were packaged in take-away boxes and were initially arranged in two separate white plastic bags but because the bags were transparent he replaced them with black plastic bags.

According to him, he started walking from the Holy Spirit Cathedral to join a commercial vehicle to the hospital.

Along the way, he met a young man who offered to help him carry one of the carrier bags.

He said when they got to the Ridge roundabout, he flagged a 'trotro' vehicle heading towards Madina to stop.

He said that just when he was about to cross the road to join the trotro he heard a voice behind him commanding him to hand over the carrier bag containing the snacks to him and as he turned to find out who the person was, he was shot in the neck.

Mr Jibril said the second robber pointed a gun at the young man who was assisting him to also hand over the carrier bag he was holding, which he did, out of fear.

He pointed out that vehicles passing by saw them being attacked but because the robbers were holding guns everyone was scared.

He added that it was at that instance that he heard the sound of a motorbike and realised it was the robbers who were using the bike.

He added that just after the robbers had moved a few metres, they stopped to examine the contents of the carrier bags and realising that it was food, they threw the snacks away and sped off.

Mr Amin Jibril said a man in a pick-up saw his predicament and drove him to the 37 Military Hospital where he was quickly rushed to the theatre for emergency surgery.

He said he believed that the robbers thought he was holding money because the Fidelity and the UB banks were along the route where he was attacked.

Although he was still in serious pains he hoped and prayed that it would not affect his spine.

Gratefully, he was alive and recuperating as the operation was successful.

Asked whether he had reported the case to the police, he answered in the negative and said he was yet to lodge a complaint to the police.

Story by Becky Amoako-Essien