How robbers attack motorists, Lokogoma residents
From Okwe Obi
For motorists plying Lokogoma road, it has not been rosy for them and their passengers especially at nights. Robbers have made movements difficult for them.
“We are constantly in fear whenever anybody is returning in the night. They like to lurk in a dark corner and attack innocent people,” Mallam Shehu Adamu, a resident of Efab estate , Lokogoma lamented.
He said they attack motorists only in the night. In the day time , the atmosphere is often warm and inviting . The expansive expressway from Logokoma to Galadimawa road that links Kabusa to Airport road is often busy.
But when the sunsets, specifically from 8pm, the monsters, as Adamu called them would emerge from their hideouts and swoop on motorists; they would attack and snatch bags and cell phones. He also disclosed that from 6am, when workers would be jostling to beat the traffic, the miscreants would employ a different strategy to continue with their trade. They would flex muscles with innocent commuters and in the process snatch their bags or cellphones.
At nights they block the road with stones at the junction close to Games Village. According to residents of the area, the robbers, most times, upon sighting a security van or a hindrance to their operation, dash into the cashew orchards used by land owners to secure their properties from land grabbers.
Day-in-day-out, residents and commuters have one tale or the other to tell about the road.
Another factor that compounds the already disastrous situation is the uncompleted road that has remained blocked for a long time. Drivers are compelled to ply one lane. Mrs. Mwese Tondu claimed that traffic lights at the Games village junction keep motorists waiting for a long time, thus giving the robbers a good opportunity to prey on passengers .
“It is scary moving on this road in the night , anything can happen to you because they sometime use stone to block the road. It is only when police comes that they run away into the bush”, Mrs Tondu narrated .
A victim, Miss Tina Aguebor, in tears narrated how her bag was snatched. She told our reporter that as soon she was caught in traffic, she wound down her windscreen, a guy came from the bush and threatened to shoot if she did not let go of her bag.
“I lost my phone, national ID card, money and jewelry.Before my co-passengers could rescue me the bag was gone. That same guy injured and broke the windscreen of another driver who, upon sighting him wound up his glass.”
Another driver, Mr. Tope Balogun concurred that criminals were having a field day making life miserable for people.
According to him, when the road is empty he sometimes sees robbery taking place at the other side of the road.
“My brother it is a norm in this area. People are suffering seriously. I tell people to be careful when it clocks 6pm because criminals are disturbing the place.” he said.
Investigations show that there is only one police post at Galadima junction Tucked inside close to Baze University, the policemen operate from a container which is painted blue, yellow and green.
A resident of one of the villages who spoke in confidence claimed that the robbers reside in the villages around the Lokogoma and could be fished out by security operatives if there is effort in that direction.
“If you enter those villages, you will see different things happening there. Most of the boys are jobless. They spend most of their time smoking hard drugs, when their money finishes they start robbing people,” he said.