A Nigerian journalist, Ameh Godwin has recounted a harrowing ordeal after armed robbers stormed his home in the early hours of Sunday, April 26, 2026, holding his wife, young children, and brothers hostage before making off with cash, phones, laptops, and other valuables.
Ameh Godwin said he was jolted awake by an unusual noise and, on looking out, spotted men armed with guns scaling the fence into his compound. He immediately alerted his brothers, and they switched on the security light in an attempt to deter the intruders.
The move did little to discourage the robbers, who brazenly ordered the family to unlock the door, threatening to open fire if they refused. “Open this door or we shoot you,” they demanded. When no one complied, one of the assailants thrust a gun through a window and pointed it directly at Godwin’s brother.
Attempts to force the door open followed, and it was during this chaotic struggle that the intruders caught sight of Godwin’s young daughter. They called on the child to open the door — a moment that Godwin described as particularly devastating.
“Daddy, are they coming to kill us?” his terrified daughter asked him, a question that he said will stay with him for a long time.
The robbers eventually breached the entrance and proceeded to ransack the home, demanding all available cash and carting away mobile phones, laptops, and other valuables before fleeing the scene. Godwin shared photographs online showing the damage left behind in the wake of the invasion.
Beyond the material losses, Godwin said his deepest concern is the psychological toll the experience may leave on his young children, expressing fear that the trauma of the night’s events could linger with them for years to come.
