Xmas: Crime Rate Rises

As Christmas and New Year approach, crime rate appears to have increased.

Most of the motorcyclists with the backing of policemen, soldiers, LASTMA officials and Airforce personnels, escape arrest and avoid fines ranging from N2,000 to N25,000 when their motorcycles are impounded. Those who are not “connected” always have their motorcycles taken to taskforce office, Alausa, Lagos.

Penulltimate week, a business man, Mr Sunday Omitayo, who resides at Adeshina Street, off Ajayi Road Ogba, Lagos, and his family members where attacked at gun point by four armed men who came on okada at exactly 6 a.m as he was driving out of his gate,  in his Toyota Camry car marked EPE 742 AS, to church.  The car was snatched and driven away by the robbers.

Last Thursday, on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, a Kaduna-based surveyor, James Richard, who came on a visit to his elder brother at Igbasan Street, Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos, was accosted by two men on okada, wielding a pistol. They collected N250,000 cash and a Nokia Lumia 900 phone from him and zoomed off.

A similar faith was suffered by Mr Priscilla Akinbola, a banker with the United Bank of Africa (UBA) at Otta, Ogun State last Friday at 6.15a.m. She was attacked by two armed robbers who rode on a motor cycle on Kudirat Abiola Way, Ikeja, Lagos. She lost N20,000, her wristwatch, jewellery and Hp laptop to the bandits. She told P.m.News: “The men blocked me, showed me a locally made gun and asked me to surrender all I had on me. Unbelievably, one of the guys said: ‘Madam, we are not here to kill you but give us our Xmas gifts”.

Also, last Saturday at 10 p.m on Berger Bridge on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, a student of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, Caroline Inyang, 24, who was returning from Ibadan was attacked by two men who walked up to her and collected N12,000 from her at gun point.

P.m.News further gathered that four armed men who came in four motorcycles robbed the occupants of Johnson Awe Street, Obadore, Lasu-Iyana Iba Road and collected valuable items from them.

On Oba Akran Road, Ikeja last Monday, at 6.30 a.m, Dele Abiona, who was standing in front of Guinness gate was robbed of N5,000 by okada riders.

At 59, Orile Road, Tabon-Tabon, Agege, a supermarket owner was robbed by two okada men who strolled in with their gun and dispossessed her of N3,800 on Sunday at 12 noon.

Also, Titi who stood in front of her house at 56 Orile Road, Agege, at 6.05a.m had her Blackberry phone collected by two okada robbers who shot into the air to scare away people.

Meanwhile, Lagos residents have called on the state commissioner of Police, Mr Umar Manko, to do something to check the ugly trend.

—Oluwole Adeboye