By Ajibola Olarinoye.
November 3, 2020 was the day I will never forget in my entire life. The unforgettable experience I had in Lagos on that fateful day will continue to linger in my memories because the scenario of the ugly incident was very ridiculous and shocking.
This was the day I also tasted a bit of the bitter pill of traffic robbery; an unfortunate phenomenon that is now rampant on Lagos roads, even in broad daylight.
That particular day, I boarded the famous Primero BRT bus going to Ikorodu on the popular Maryland Bus at 5:30 pm. When we got to Mile 12, opposite the popular Mile 12 market, we saw people running helter-skelter, shop owners hurriedly closing their shops in palpable fear and apprehension. To my surprise, I saw private car owners abandoning their vehicles and starting fleeing like the scenes of the Rwanda and Liberia wars. “What could be happening?” I was asking myself the same thing other passengers were asking with bated breath.
All of a sudden, I saw some rough, grim, and tattered looking guys who should be in their 20’s emerging from different corners, wielding several weapons, like locally made guns, cutlasses, charms, knives, iron rods, and so on. Before anyone could say Jack Robinson, they started shooting sporadically, smashing the windscreens of cars, dispossessing motorists of their belongings, most especially phones and bags. As I was watching from inside the BRT bus, it looked as if I was dreaming or watching a crime scene from a Nollywood film, but it was not a film, but a real life scene. As the hoodlums were moving closer to our bus, my fellow passengers, both Muslims and Christians, out of massive fear, started saying intensive prayers in the way of their religions. I too joined the emergency prayer session. I didn’t know when I started quoting bible verses, most especially Psalms. We were, however, lucky because, as they were planning to enter our bus, police operatives arrived and the hoodlums fled. To my utmost surprise, as massive as the robbery was, no arrest was made by the police. We all came out of the bus, thanking God. I also joined the thanksgiving ceremony because my android phone and power bank did not say goodbye to me that day. To our chagrin, we also saw that pants littered the floors, we learnt that some women were raped after dispossessing them of their belongings! This is to tell you how terrible the dimension of traffic robbery has gotten to in a city that prides itself on being the commercial capital of Nigeria and a city that wants to be among the mega cities in the world.
The experience I shared above is what Lagosians go through on a daily basis as they go out early in the morning to search for their daily bread and come back home late at night.
The Commissioner of Police in Lagos, the head of the Task Force team in Lagos and the Governor of Lagos have all made promises, but these assurances later turned out to be a pipe-dream because this scourge of traffic robbery is not just increasing on a daily basis, also, the hoodlums are getting more daring and bolder. An example is the rape incident I earlier made mention of. Traffic robbery in the state has metamorphosed from early morning and late at night to broad daylight.
The traffic robbery menace has become the identity of the Nigeria’s commercial city and it has spread to almost every part of the metropolis, most especially Mile 12, Ketu, Owode-Ikorodu Road, Surulere, Apapa-Oshodi-Oworosonki Expressway, Berger on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Lagos-Ikeja-Agege routes, Lagos-Badagry expressway, Third Mainland Bridge, Funsho Williams Avenue (formerly Western Avenue), Ojota and others.
Few weeks ago, as seen in a viral video, hoodlums swooped on motorists around the Oshodi-Oworonsoki Expressway. The armed touts robbed them and their occupants of their belongings, such as bags, phones, and laptops. It was gathered that the hoodlums took advantage of a severe traffic jam from Toyota Bus Stop to the Third Mainland Bridge to perpetrate their sinister acts.
Last month, traffic robbers brazenly, in broad daylight, around 4.30pm, attacked a staff bus on Marina Bridge, ordered all the occupants to come out and collected all their valuable belongings, mostly bags, phones, and laptops.
Narrating his ordeal to journalists, one of the victims, who gave his name as Abiodun, said: “Everybody was just looking at them from the start to finish of their very smooth and unhindered operation. Even policemen down the bridge were just busy collecting money from Orile buses. Imagine being robbed and you can’t even shout ‘Ole.’ ”
Also, speaking to journalists, Wale Ola, who witnessed the incident, said: “The bus was right in front of me. I was coming from Victoria Island, and I stylishly removed my SIM, uninstalled my mobile app, and hid some money under the seat. I removed my ATM cards and driver’s licence, leaving only money in my purse, so I could easily hand it over. Glory to God, they didn’t come to me. ”
Speaking, another motorist, who identified herself as Mrs. Comfort Alade, said that armed hoodlums attacked her at the end of the Cele Fly-over, Itire side, lamenting that she was robbed of all her belongings, which included money and a laptop.
She noted that the robbery attack took place despite the presence of some police officers nearby the scene of the incident.
Linda Ikeji’s blog also released a video last week showing how some hoodlums were attacking motorists around the stadium area in Surulere, collecting valuable items.
Speaking on the upsurge in cases of traffic robbery in the state, Lagos State Police Command’s spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said that the command had deployed 1,000 officers to check the menace
He said: “On the directive of the State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, additional patrol teams from the Rapid Response Squad and other operational outfits were drafted to the place to carry out a 24-hour visibility patrol of the entire area to ensure protection of the lives and property of residents and motorists.
“It is on record that many traffic robbers have been arrested in the last few months and charged in court. Notwithstanding, the command, in its relentless efforts, is committed to putting an end to such incidents and other sundry crimes in the state. ”
The spokesman called on Lagosians to always give swift and credible information to the police, noting that such information will be treated with confidentiality, “he assured.
Many analysts and residents have said that this menace of traffic robbery, which is increasing tremendously, does not augur well for the image of the state, especially at a time when the state government is making a move to make it a mega city. They noted that it will scare away both Investors and potential Investors
