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From Abubakar Yakubu, Abuja
For commuters in Abuja, the fear of robbers posing as drivers and passengers in commercial vehicles, popular called ‘one chance,’ is the beginning of wisdom.
After the death of Miss Greatness Olorunfemi, a ‘one chance’ victim who was thrown out of a fast moving vehicle along the Maitama – Kubwa expressway in September last year, and the massive hunt for such criminals in Abuja by the FCT Police command, operators of such deadly acts have devised new tactics to attract passengers to their vehicles.
Saturday Sun interviewed several victims on January 3 and found out that the drivers of such vehicles now reduce transport fares as well as carry more female passengers to avoid suspicion.
Ijeoma, a banana seller at Jikwoyi, said she was waiting at Nyanya to board a vehicle to Dei Dei at 6am when a Toyota Corolla vehicle stopped before her and the driver beckoned on her to come.
“I noticed inside the car that there were three female passengers with a male at the back, while the front seat had one male. And when I asked how much the fare was, the driver said N400, which attracted me and I squeezed myself in the front seat.
“As we continued on the journey, the man sitting in front with me showed me his hand which was rubbed with oil and started complaining that I should move forward in the seat so that he could adjust his injured hand and leg properly.”
According to her, the driver then asked her to put her handbag in between him and the passenger in front and when she refused to give him the bag, the driver slowed down and the man collected the bag from her by force and pushed her out of the vehicle after Mpape junction.
Ijeoma said she did not report to the police as she sustained minor injuries and what was in the bag was just her make-up kits and N2000, adding that she hid the bulk of the money she wanted to use in the market in her dress.
Another resident, Kabir Abdul, said he was going to visit his sick friend at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital in Gwagwalada and boarded a Golf car near Karu Bridge.
He said the vehicle had four female passengers, who sat at the back seat, while the driver and another male passenger were in front.
“The driver told me to pay N700 instead of N1000 to Zuba, and this made me jump into the car. On the way, the passenger in front began to complain that I was fat and he was not comfortable. He asked me to move forward on the seat, while the driver collected the bag I had on my laps and placed it in between the passenger and himself,” he narrated.
Abdul said he quickly grabbed his bag back and shouted at the driver to drop him immediately.
“The driver quickly applied the car’s brakes very close to Niger Military Barracks and as my first leg reached the ground he zoomed off, making me to spin before falling,” the victim said.
Abdul said he noticed belatedly that the car had no number plates at the back.
Both Ijeoma and Abdul should count themselves very lucky as they lived to tell their stories. Their cases were totally different from that of one popular plantain seller at Mararaba in Nasarawa State simply called Mama Plantain. She had boarded an unpainted commercial vehicle from Mararaba to Zuba a few years ago and was found strangled near Jabi Lake.
Another case was that of Miss Greatness Olorunfemi, who was manhandled and later thrown out of the fast moving car, a case that raised public concern over the shabby manner she was handled by medical staff at Maitama Hospital before she gave up the ghost.
From November last year to December ending, the police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have paraded about 18 “Once Chance’ suspects in Abuja. During the parade in November, FCT Commissioner of Police, Haruna Garba, told the press that the police arrested one Osai Donatus after one Faith James on October 24 reported that she boarded a green Peugeot vehicle with Reg. No. CK 202 GWA from ACO Estate junction to Trademore Estate and was robbed of her belongings, which included N110,000 in the said vehicle.
He said the suspect was arrested while attempting to commit the same act on another innocent passenger, adding that he confessed to the crime and was assisting the police to apprehend other gang members.
The commissioner also disclosed that police operatives from the Asokoro Division on October 30, 2023, while on routine patrol along the DSS Quarters, Asokoro, sighted a suspicious blue Vento Volkswagen car with Reg. No. APP 307 GS and intercepted the vehicle opposite Niger Barracks, where they apprehended a five-man ‘One Chance’ gang. He gave the suspects names as Lekan Adebayo (gang leader), Abraham Umukoro, Joseph Asobei, Blessing Gabriel (female) and Joy Livinus (female).
Garba said during interrogation, the suspects confessed to being members of the crime syndicate which specialises in carefully identifying victims to rob. He said such victims would be taken to isolated areas, robbed of their valuables and later dropped at deserted locations.
The police chief said another victim, Bright Ezekiel, reported to the Asokoro Police Division on November 27, 2023 that she and her friend, one Rose Augustine, boarded a vehicle from Mogadishu Cantonment to Kubwa and were taken to an unknown destination, and forced to part with N482,000.00 and N387,500.00 respectively, which were transferred from their bank accounts to those of the robbers.
The commissioner said that operatives of the division swung into action and, with the assistance of the Nigeria Army Intelligence Unit, apprehended Ogbonna Nwovu, Ndugo Ikechukwu, Amaechi Emezi, Felicia Udoh and Adekunle Tayo.
After the parade of the nine suspects in November, the police commissioner again paraded another seven suspects on December 29, 2023. Those paraded include Rita Geoffrey (female), Musa Bashiru, Ruth Friday (female), Isa Paul Abdulateef, Murtala Olawale, and Loveth Amos (female).
He said upon interrogation by police operatives, Rita Geoffrey voluntarily confessed that she had been involved in a series of ‘one chance’ crimes within the FCT in the last three years in which one of their victims, a lady, was murdered by their gang.
The police commissioner narrated further that her confession, along with others, led to the arrest of one Mohammed Aliyu Lawal, a POS operator, who they usually patronised to withdraw money using their victims’ ATM cards.
When interviewed by the press on why they went into crime, the female members of the gang, Rita, Ruth and Loveth, blamed their plights on poverty and the harsh economic situation in the country.
A police officer, who is not authorised to speak to the press, told our reporter that the police beef-up of its operatives at strategic points to crack down on vehicles without number plates or foreign numbers is what has led to the successes in apprehending the culprits.
