Recently, I visited the American Embassy in Abuja and I saw criminal elements all over the area, and they were doing everything possible to swindle people headed to the embassy.
There was one particular woman, who stationed herself very close to the entrance of the embassy and pretended to be selling kunu (a local beverage made with guinea corn and milk and other items). There were some around her and they pretended to be her customers.
As you are about to walk past where they were to approach embassy’s entrance, the woman would call out to you and say that the security men at the gate would not allow you go into the premises with your bag. She would offer to keep the bags of those going in (supposedly for safe custody) and the men around her would attest to what she says.
Believing her offer to be genuine, you hand over your bag to her. Alas, when you come out of the premises after whatever transaction took to the embassy, you won’t see any of them there. This practice has been going on for long and many innocent people have fallen victims of these con artists.
My investigations revealed that at a point, the security men at the embassy descended on them. That effort by the embassy security officers forced the con artists to relocate to another place. From the new location which is still within the vicinity of the embassy, they continued with their scam.
On the day, I visited the embassy, one of them, who gave his name as “Musa Ibrahim” approached me and wanted to keep my bag for me too, but I walked away after obtaining his name and his phone number (09093379814).
It is bad for our national image that this kind of scam has been happening close the American embassy and the policemen detailed to protect the outer perimeter of the embassy know about it. This piece is a call on the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, to arrest, prosecute and ensure the permanent relocation of these criminals to a Correctional Center (Prison). It is hoped that the Inspector General of Police would issue the appropriate directive to the FCT Commissioner of Police, to do the needful.
• Awunah Pius Terwase, a human rights activist and independent investigative journalist, wrote from Mpape, Abuja via email.