By Olimatou Coker
QTV journalist Ansumana Nyassi was on Tuesday night attacked by three unknown armed robbers near his residence in Latrikunda German leaving him with serious injuries on his left arm.
Nyassi told The Standard that he went out around 3am to help a neighbour unlock his compound gate when three people jumped on him.
“They were trying to open my neighbour’s door. They were drunk and armed with knives and a broken bottle,” he narrated.
He added: “I had to fight even though they were armed, but I knew if I didn’t defend myself, I would have been dead by now. One of them kept stabbing me repeatedly with a knife, and the wounds are very deep,” he said.
He explained that he managed to overpower one of the attackers and struck him in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground.
“That was when I shouted for help. The neighbours living upstairs heard the noise and realised something was wrong. They rushed outside, and that was when the armed robbers ran away. Some of the neighbours chased after them, but because it was dark and there were no lights outside, they could not catch them. I was bleeding heavily, and the neighbours used their shirts they were wearing to tie my hand to reduce the blood flow.”
Nyassi called on the government to strengthen security measures across the country, saying that what happened to him could happen to anyone.
“The government should help improve security. You never really understand how serious these situations are until they happen to you. I have never experienced anything like this,” he said.
He further clarified that the armed robbers were not targeting him.
“The robbers actually came for my neighbour. I went outside because I thought it was him. I am usually the one who opens the door for him, so when I heard the noise, I went out to check. That’s how I got involved,” he explained.
The Gambia police issued a statement confirming the incident and said investigations are ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and apprehend the culprits.
