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Armed robbers take over Lagos-Ibadan, Sagamu-Benin roads

Nigerians are still in shock following the ordeal of 42 pupils of Holy Rosary College, Enugu, Enugu State. The pupils were attacked by armed robbers and some of them were allegedly raped after the luxury bus conveying them to Lagos broke down at Ogbere area of Ogun State about 11.30pm on Saturday.
The incident further confirmed the fear of those plying the Sagamu-Benin
Expressway that the road had become a den of armed robbers. Equally dangerous is the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. To many motorists and commuters, plying the roads is like “walking through the valley of the shadow of death.”
Although there are no available records on the numbers of robberies and cases of missing persons recorded on the roads, many of the residents of the area told PUNCH Metro that such cases are common.

Armed robbers in police uniforms
Mr. Bola Adeko, 70, has lived most of his life with his family in the United Kingdom. At his age, he thought it wise to return home. But barely four weeks after arriving Nigeria, Adeko, who was with two other occupants in a metallic brown 4matic Mercedes 430, with number plate JM 251 EKY, was flagged dow by a group of policemen at the Ososa Junction, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.
As a law abiding citizen, he instructed his driver to slow down. But unfortunately, the men in police uniforms were armed robbers.
Adeko said, “The incident happened on February 6, 2012¸at Ososa Junction. We were coming from Ijebu Ode. There were three of us in the vehicle: Myself, my younger brother and the driver. We thought they were policemen because whenever I am in Nigeria, I passed that route quite often and I had seen policemen at that junction.
“We were shocked. They took all our phones, money and some documents. They ordered us out of the vehicle and asked us to lie down on the ground. We were thoroughly beaten. That experience was shocking. They threatened to kill us and went away with the vehicle.
“We reported the matter at the Odogbolu Police Division and in our presence, they radioed some police divisions but up till now, the vehicle has not been found.”
Asked if he would still go ahead to finally relocate to Nigeria, Adeko, who spoke with one of our correspondents on the telephone, said although he had no other option than to relocate, the incident was discouraging.
A regular commuter on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ireti Akinsanya, said, “Members of my church in Ogere along the expressway have continued to fall victim to armed robbers. In January, armed robbers in police uniforms went on the rampage.
“Our vehicles almost ran into them. Immediately our driver got the information, everyone on board abandoned the bus and ran into the bush. Some of my church members were, however, unlucky as they ran into the robbers and were dispossessed of their belongings.”
Eyewitness accounts
Robberies are also common along the notorious Warewa Bridge, the Oyo end of the expressway, and Onigarri end of the road at night.
Mr. Taiwo Oyefusi, a cab driver that plies the Ketu-Ibafo route regularly, said, “I have witnessed three robberies around Onigarri end of the expressway this year alone. Some of my colleagues have even been victims of armed robbers.
“Onigarri is at the border point of Oyo and Ogun states and as such one will expect more security there but there is none.”
Oyefusi said the bandits usually operate on motorcycles, wielding locally-made guns and dispossessing motorists of their valuables.
Mrs. Aramide Olayinka, who once escaped being robbed around Ogere, said the hoodlums operated around 12 noon.
“I think the robberies are more on the weekends when more people are travelling for one event of the other,” he said.
A commercial motorcycle rider in Ogere town, who identified himself simply as Kunle, believed the robbers were working in conjunction with miscreants at the Ogere Trailer Park.
“Miscreants residing in that trailer park have at one time or the other been arrested for various armed robberies in the area. I think the police should swing into action and investigate the activities of the hoodlums at the park,” he said.
One of our correspondents, who visited Sagamu, Ogun State, learnt that many residents of the area, especially, commercial bus drivers who ply the expressway regularly, had lost valuables to robbers around the Sagamu interchange on many occasions.
Some of the residents, who spoke with PUNCH Metro, lamented that the robbers had taken advantage of the fact that there were no regular police patrol in the area.
A commercial bus driver, Jamiu Fijabi, said his only prayer whenever he loaded passengers from Sagamu to Lagos was protection against armed robbers.
“Our greatest fear on the expressway is armed robbery. Commercial bus drivers have been attacked many times,” he said.
Another commercial bus driver, however, had a more sordid story to tell. The driver, Oladiti Gbenga, said his vehicle was once ambushed by about five armed robbers close to the Sagamu interchange.
He said, “The robbers caught us unawares because they came out of the forest close to us. So, we did not have enough time to get out of the bus and run into the bush.
“They threatened to kill us if we didn’t bring out everything we had on us. That day, I lost N40,000 that I wanted to use to purchase a windscreen and other vehicle parts in Lagos. Other passengers lost all valuables they had on them that day too.”
A resident of Sagamu, Kola Igbodofo, told PUNCH Metro, “In every robbery incident around here, we always learn that the police would get to the scene after the robbers had long gone. Maybe they don’t have enough vehicles to combat the armed robbers.”
When our correspondent visited the Sagamu Area Command of the Ogun State Police Command, an Armoured Personnel Carrier and a patrol vehicle were noticed on the premises.
But the area commander was said to be away on a course. None of the policemen on duty was willing to speak on record.

Strategies used by armed robbers
A police source confirmed that the spate of robberies and kidnapping on the Sagamu-Benin Expressway, especially between Odogbolu and Ikenne were on the increase.
He said, “In February, there was a robbery around Ogere and when the Area Commander was alerted, we immediately went there and arrest some of the bandits.
“Not up to two hours after we left, we received another distress call that robbery was going on again. So, we had to go there and make a pin-down point in the area so as to prevent the bandits from coming back.
“When some people went to investigate, it was discovered that the bandits, who usually operate and escape onokada, had created a path in the bush for easy escape.”
The police source said the robbers used tree branches, onion or tomato baskets and other objects to obstruct the road so that motorists would be forced to slow down, giving the thugs the opportunity to attack their victims.
He said the robbers also loitered around bad spots on the roads and advised motorists not be to distracted when they got to such spots.

Lack of equipment, logistics bane of the police
A senior police officer attached to the Ogere-Remo Division, who preferred anonymity, said the police had been unable to curtail the incessant robberies due to logistical problems.
He said, “The Ogere Police Division has been trying all it can to combat these incessant robberies. But we are constrained by some factors. In this division, we don’t have a single patrol vehicle.
“The armed robbers destroyed one of the vehicles when we engaged them in a gun duel. Another one had an accident while the one donated to us by the community is faulty. We are at present looking up to the Ikenne Local Government authorities to repair it for us.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Command, Mrs. Bisi Okwuobi, denied the allegation that the police could be aiding crime on the highway so as to bring roadblocks back.
She said, “The police authorities will not condone a thing of such. We are committed to ensuring safety and security of life and property. It is just that most times we contend with problem of logistics. We want support from the state government in our efforts to stem crimes.
“It will baffle you that when our men go on patrol they sometimes have problems fuelling their vehicles and this reduces the rate at which they work most times.”
An appeal to the police
A commercial driver, Mr. Toye Olaore, who spoke with one of our correspondents in Ibadan on Wednesday on the issue, called on the state police command to rise to the challenge.
He said, “Some people even believe that the police could be involved in the robberies just to make a case for the return of roadblocks.
“We want to appeal to the police authorities to ensure adequate security especially on the highways for the safety of travellers and road workers.”

IG’s strategy to combat highway robberies
The spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, said robberies along the expressways within state would soon be a thing of the past.
Adejobi said the roads had been divided into segments each of which was being patrolled by policemen and headed by a senior police officer.
He said, “We have divided the expressway into segments. There are police patrol teams per four kilometres interval and each patrol team will be manned by an assistant superintendent of police and in the event that anything goes wrong, the team whose area of patrol is affected will be held responsible.
“The teams will man the two major expressways; the Sagamu-Begin Expressway and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. We are deploying anti-robbery policemen in all these areas and we have ordered all Divisional Police Officers whose divisions are along the expressways to be on the road as sitting down in the office will no longer be allowed.”
Punch NG
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