Soldiers Lock Up Customers At Shoprite Over Missing N200,000

There was pandemonium and anger as soldiers on Tuesday locked up customers inside popular shopping mall Shoprite, located in Umuahia, Abia State capital.

An eyewitness who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity explained that trouble started when unidentified soldiers in mufti parked their RAV 4 vehicle at the parking lot of the outlet and went inside for shopping.

Upon return, they raised alarm, claiming that their vehicle had been vandalised and money stolen.

Angered by the development, they sought for assistance of their colleagues who immediately besieged the shopping outlet in a Toyota Hilux vehicle.

The vehicle came with 6 soldiers who locked up customers and prevented entry and exit from the mall.

The soldiers insisted on having access to the CCTV footage to enable them study how the money was stolen.

They were later said to have freed the customers and left the area.

THE WHISTLER learnt that the soldiers action did not go down well with the customers who threatened to protest the ill treatment.

Confirming the incident to our correspondent in Umuahia, a staff of the mall said, “A Major in the Nigerian Army (name wihtheld) came to shop in the mall and claimed that money to the tune of 200,000 was taken out of his car.

“He called his boys and they prevented entry and exit from the mall for from 4:40pm to 6:30pm.”