Follow Us on Google
Samuel Bello, Abuja
Users of Gudu-Lokogoma Road in Abuja are making passionate appeal to government to save them from armed robbers. They told Daily Sun that the partial collapse of a makeshift bridge on the road has resulted to most of the users of the road being robbed of their belongings while returning home in the evening.
Although most of the road users admitted that security agents patrol the road on daily basis, they said the criminals are still having a field day. They complained that cases of motorcycle theft, rape, kidnapping, snatching bags, phones and other valuables in the area happen virtually every week.
Sadiq, Bikeman, said: “These boys operate from 7pm till very late in the night. They are small boys that are lost in the cultism life. Most of them are secondary school dropouts, some under-graduates.
“They have been terrorising the people of this area for a long time now. This place has no streetlight, no vigilante or any kind of security. That gave them the liberty to be pulling out daggers and stealing from people.
“I have not heard of car theft but I cannot say the same for motorcycles. Just last week, according to the owner of a stolen bike, the thief masked himself with a dagger in his hand. That is not the first time we get such news here. You dare not pass that place on foot from 7pm.”
Rose Awodun who sells car spare parts in Gudu Market, said the economic crisis in the country has pushed parents and guardians to withdraw their children from school to become apprentice: “Many of them now fend for themselves. When you take a proper look around Gudu Market, you would notice that many of these young boys are on the side of the road wearing robes. Most of them specialise in fixing car air condition systems.
“Some of them are vulcanizers, others sell fairly used tyres, car batteries and many others. All these ventures have as many apprentices they can get. I am not saying I suspect those boys of what has been happening for a long time now. It is just the overpopulation I have issue with.
“I have heard too many times of bag snatching in that area. I think the criminals have a hideout in the bushes around there because it is still unexplainable where they come out from.”
Queen Emuobo, a car battery seller, narrated her experience of how she lost everything she had: “I have a shop in Gudu. I live in Lokogoma and because I try to save money, I sometimes take bike and on days when business is good, I take Uber. Over time, my constant usage of Uber started affecting my profits so I had to stick with bikes. On this fateful day I had waited for a customer who wanted to buy items in dozens. I promised to wait till late for him to come.
“The nature of this particular customer’s job doesn’t allow him close early. I had no choice but to wait. He eventually showed up very late and at this time, most shops had closed in Gudu. He bought so many things and I made profit that would have taken me a month to achieve. So I got my bike as usual and we had almost gotten to my area when we were double crossed by some young men, holding knives and threatening to hurt us if we refused to cooperate.
“I was robbed of my valuables. I was lucky my customer did a cash transfer. If not I would have lost the sales I had just laboured to achieve. Two mobile phones and my ATM cards were stolen. I am happy they did not hurt or kill me. Sadly, they also escaped with the motorcycle and we started shouting for help. This was almost midnight and motorists were not stopping for us.
“I couldn’t even mourn the loss of my valuables and money I had on me. At that point, the bike man was already in tears, saying the bike is his only source of income and paying his children’s school fees would be very challenging for him. I ended up consoling him.
“We were able to get a tricycle to take us to the nearest police station. They took our statements and our phone numbers and promised to get back to us soon as they find something.
“After that incident, I stopped caring about having maximum profits to take home and started taking Uber to my house. I only save on transportation in the morning by taking bikes because at least with that I know the risk is lower during the day.
“Few months after ending my relationship with bikes, I had closed quite late and was on my way peacefully with Uber, about two cars in front of us started indicating alarmingly. At first we thought their tyres were bad so we decided to over take them.
“As we were just by the first car, the man shouted from his window that we should turn back that two cars after us was being robbed and Lo and behold we saw about three men pointing axes at a Mercedes Benz. We watched in horror as they dragged the Benz owner out of his car and the thieves sped off.
“The man started shouting for help and begged cars to follow the car for him. No one answered him and the man was left by the roadside. My Uber driver took a different route and filled me in about that incident being the fifth that month. It is a common thing for cars to be snatched and people get robbed. He advised that I try as much as possible to close early and never take bikes. Safe to say I have learnt my lesson.”
Emuobo also raised concern over the increasing crime rate in the vicinity, urging the Federal Government to intervene by taking drastic measures to curb the menace.
