Roads & Construction
Lagos Traffic Robbers Return After Lockdown Break
According to a report by The Punch Newspapers, it was reported that there has been a spike of highway robbers on Lagos roads after the lockdown has been relaxed.
There has been a spike in traffic robbery on Lagos roads since the easing of the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
RRS early this week reported that one Mayowa Adedoyin, 19-year-old, a notorious traffic robber in Oshodi, was arrested by RRS riders in Oshodi – Oke, inward Anthony – Oke around 9:00 p.m on Saturday.
The suspect, operating with a colleague in the spot had tried unsuccessfully to rob a man in traffic.
Our riders, acting on report laid siege on the duo and Adedoyin was arrested robbing in traffic.
He has been handed over to Makinde Police Station in Oshodi.
RRS riders are on the lookout for his colleague.
Also, An editor with a national newspaper in the country, simply identified as Juliet, was on her way to work around 2 pm last Friday when she suddenly encountered traffic between Oshodi and Anthony areas of Lagos.
Few minutes into the journey and as vehicles of different make practically crawled at snail’s pace, some hoodlums appeared from nowhere pushing against her side doors and demanding cash from her.
Juliet, who was scared, emptied her bag and gave the hoodlums all the money she had on her.
With a bit of relief, she continued driving.
However, a little distance away, another set of hoodlums knocked on her window and demanded her valuables.
She narrated, “As I covered the space between my vehicle and the next vehicle, I saw an opening on my right and I drove into space and immediately, I saw some guys again surrounding my car and threatening that they were going to break my glass. I got angry and asked what they wanted.
“They said I should give them money and I asked them that were they not the ones I just gave money to and that they had collected all the money I had, but they said they were not the ones, that it was another group. I told them that I didn’t have any money again but they told me to search my car and when I wasn’t sure I had money in the car, I offered them my wristwatch and ring, but they didn’t want those; all they wanted was money so I had to look through my car and the little money I got I gave to them and they left.”
Juliet is not the only victim of the recent upsurge in traffic robberies in the state.
It was gathered that since life gradually returned to the metropolis, traffic robberies had become the new normal in the state.
The bad roads in most places and construction activities on some of the roads have provided ammunition for the different gangs of traffic robbers, who are mostly street urchins with no known addresses.
For instance, from the Charity bus stop through Oshodi Oke, up to Anthony bus stop and Gbagada, all motorists are restricted to the service lane of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway due to the ongoing reconstruction of the road.
Hoodlums, who mingle with hawkers, use the accompanying gridlock as a cover for their nefarious activities as they pick on vulnerable motorists like women and young men driving alone to rob.
Sometimes, the hoodlums inflict injuries on their victims, who are hesitant in yielding to their demands.
Some security experts have blamed the increase in traffic robberies after the lockdown on hunger, saying many Lagos residents have lost their means of livelihood following the economic problems that accompanied the coronavirus pandemic.
The President, Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria, Dr Ona Ekhomu, stated that the negative economic factors in the country had driven a lot of young people into desperation, which further led them to taking to robbery.
Ekhomu noted that the inability of the police to study crime trends in the state had also emboldened the traffic robbers.
He said “People are hungry and there is no much help coming their way. Businesses have not picked up despite the easing of the lockdown and COVID-19 has shown us that the government does not know who needs succour or deserving of palliatives.
“There is a combination of negative economic factors driving a lot of young people into desperation, which leads them to the point of robbery. Poor law enforcement strategies and the inability of the police to study crime trends have also aided the activities of these criminals.
“The curfew has also presented a lot of opportunities for the robbers to attack people; so, the law enforcement agents need to fine-tune their strategies to address the trend in crime and criminality. The police need to implement strategies by studying crime trends and allocating resources to address those crime trends and directing their personnel to the dark spots in the state such that when some people are caught, it will serve as a deterrent to others.
“The community policing personnel, like the state Neighbourhood Watch and LASTMA, should be deployed along with police personnel so that they can boost the capability of the police in terms of numbers and to detect crime in progress and possibly make an arrest. Deterrent posts to discourage the robbers should be erected strategically.”
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