10th September, 2012
There is something sinister about the last four months of the year many prefer to call ‘ember months’ because they all end in ‘ber’. These months are usually associated with hustling ahead of the Christmas and New Year festivities and some people go to any length to make money to make merry during the festive period. Some take the short cut by going into armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes just to make money for the festivities.
That is why the last four months of the year are characterised by high crime rate, some very violent as witnessed on Sunday in Lagos where robbers went on the rampage and killed three policemen and several others.
The robbers who reportedly operated in several parts of the state, including Ifako-Gbagada, Oshodi, Mile 2, Ikeja, Surulere and Agege, seemingly took the police by surprise, considering the ease with which they operated and the duration of the operation.
Two of the cops felled by the robbers’ bullets had confronted the robbers around Oba Akran Avenue in Ikeja. The gangsters had reportedly snatched two bags containing local and foreign currencies running into millions from currency changers in Agege and as they were fleeing, a police patrol team attached to the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, pursued them up to Oba Akran Avenue where the robbers gunned down the two cops and escaped with their loot.
The tragic incident has again reinforced the belief that ‘ember months’ are usually associated with high violent crime rate, not only in Lagos but also in other major cities across the country. Sunday’s incident is a wakeup call for the police and other security agencies to gird their loins for battle against criminals who believe they can go to any length to carry out their nefarious activities this period of the year.
We are saddened by Sunday’s tragic incident. And to forestall this kind of daring operation in future, security agencies should harmonise their strategies to confront the criminals. They should pre-empt the kind of robbery attack that took place on Sunday. Never again should robbers be allowed to have such a field day because of the number of casualties they could leave in their wake such as that of the bloody Sunday in Lagos.