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Rely on instincts when boarding public transport –Police
An unwary passenger usually boards such buses, unaware that most of the passengers are part of a robbery gang.
Once the innocent passenger boards the bus and the driver drives off, the robbers would immediately swoop on the victim, robbing him/her blind.
The victim could be pushed out of the vehicle after they were through with him/her or not, depending on the gang. Policemen call them ‘One Chance Robbery Syndicates,’ but most Nigerians call them, ‘One Chance Armed Robbers.’ They were prevalent and active about five to 10 years back.
They all almost later crawled into nearest holes after passengers became wiser to their antics and policemen started trailing and busting suspicious looking passengers and buses.
Now, they are back again! This time however, they come in new mode. Now, they collect the victim’s Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Card and Personnel Identity Number (PIN), rush to an ATM gallery and clear the person’s account of all the money therein. Sometimes, they follow the victim to the gallery to cash the money before disappearing. Mrs. Yemisi Olawale-Aina is a recent victim.
The mother of three fell into the hands of these crooks on April 26, 2015, around 6am, along Berger Bus Stop, as she was heading to her office at Ikoyi. She had innocently boarded a bus heading to Obalende, Ikoyi, unaware that she had stepped into the midst of vipers.
Apparently still shocked over the incident, Olawale-Aina said: “I didn’t know I was in the midst of armed robbers! I thought they were passengers like me!” Recalling how she was robbed on that fateful day, the woman said: “I left home exactly 5:30am with my husband. My husband dropped me off at Berger and reversed, heading to his own office. The first bus I saw was calling Obalende. Without thinking twice, I jumped in.
There were other passengers inside the bus. I boarded the bus without wondering why no passenger had boarded since the conductor was calling Obalende. I was the only one that boarded. I sat comfortably in the front seat, thinking I was lucky to get that position. I didn’t even bother glancing back to check out the other passengers. The day was not yet too bright.”
The only person she bothered to check out was the driver, who looked quite elderly. She greeted the driver with respect and begged him to adjust because he was sitting too close to her. The driver didn’t adjust.
Rather, he looked at her with amusement. She kept quiet, but demanded he adjusted after another passenger joined her on the front seat. A few minutes later, the conductor entered, shut the door and the bus moved. Suddenly, she felt someone tapping her shoulder, the person ordered her to sit on the floor of the bus. Olawale-Aina said: “When the hand tapped me, I glanced back. It was a guy. He said, ‘madam sit on the floor.’
I thought he was mad or something, asking me to sit on the floor of the bus. The elderly man beside me smiled and told me to co-operate. He said if I didn’t cooperate, he would order his ‘boys to waste’ me. I looked back again and noticed that the passengers were all men. I had a foreboding and quickly sat on the floor. They took my handbag, wedding ring, earrings and necklace.”
Once those items were in their possessions, the robbers started asking her puzzling questions. She recounted: “They started asking me questions; they asked me what my husband does for a living and the number of kids we have. I was shocked. There was nothing I could do than to give them the information they wanted.
They asked for my ATM card, I told them that it was inside my handbag. They found the card and asked for the PIN. I also gave it to them. They further asked me how much I had in my account, I told them.
I knew I had no option.” Olawale-Aina who said the men were eight in number, further explained: “As they threatened me further, asking series of questions, I didn’t know when I said; ‘God! You know my husband and I prayed this morning to you!’ I wanted to pray, but no words came.”
She added that after asking her several questions, the men drove to an ATM gallery at a location where she didn’t know. One of them left with the ATM card and returned about 15 minutes later.
“The elderly man was conversing with the supposed conductor in pidgin English when he received a call. The old man asked the caller whether they should still hold me hostage or allow me to go since they had withdrawn the money,” said Olawale-Aina. She didn’t know what the caller said, all she knew was that the conductor gently returned her handbag, earrings, wedding ring and told her that the items were not gold.
But they held onto her ATM card. The elderly man, who was the bus driver, stopped the bus along Alausa Road, Ikeja and stepped down from the bus to open the door for her. Olawale-Aina said: “When he stopped the bus, I was still inside the bus, still seated on the floor. I thought they wanted to kidnap me. The elderly man told me that they were not going to waste my life or harm me. He said they had decided to let me go.”
The woman, who said she had never experienced so much fear in her life, continued her narration: “Even though they took my ATM card and my money, they didn’t take my life!
They didn’t push me out of the vehicle or hurt me. The conductor held my hand and assisted me down from the vehicle. When I got down, they told me I should keep walking straight and mustn’t look back. They said I should not tell people what I saw or what transpired. I was still shaking and couldn’t get over the shock at that time. But I thank God that I’m alive today to tell this story.’’ Olawale-Aina used the opportunity to implore Nigerians, especially Lagos residents to be careful and vigilant whenever they wanted to board commercial buses. She urged: “People should be extra careful of boarding buses when all the passengers are men. In fact, they should not board a bus that has only male passengers!
Most importantly, always pray to God for protection and guidance.” Another victim, Miss Esther Oladele, is still bemoaning the amount of money she lost to such ‘One Chance Armed Robbers.’ According to her, she was on her way to Alausa, Ikeja, around 12: 30pm on the fateful day of June to pick some cash from a lady when she fell into the hands of the deadly crooks. Oladele said: “I actually wanted to board a bus from the First Gate Bus Stop, Agidingbi, to go to Alausa, but decided to take a taxi after waiting to no avail for a bus. I boarded a taxi, unaware that I was walking into trouble. When I boarded the taxi, I realised that I was the third passenger at the back of the car.
A lady and a guy sat beside me. The driver of the taxi and a Muslim cleric were at the front seats. The driver drove for about five minutes and suddenly the guy sitting beside me demanded for my handbag. I was surprised at his demand. I turned to the lady and said, ‘Auntie, can you imagine this guy; He said he wants my handbag.’ The lady gave me a blinding slap and ordered me to keep quiet! It was at that point I knew I was in trouble.|” While this was happening, the driver just kept on driving serenely.
The guy took her handbag, ransacked it and found Oladele’s purse. The man opened the purse and saw about N300. He asked Oladele if that was all she had, she replied in the affirmative.
He was about shutting the purse when her complimentary and ATM cards fell out. Oladele remembered: “When he saw the ATM card, he asked if there was money in my account, I said no. It was at that point that the Muslim Cleric ordered the lady and the man to search me thoroughly. He said I might be lying.’’ Oladele tried identifying the area the car was driving through, but failed. Everywhere looked strange to her.
After driving for a while, the car stopped. The gang asked Oladele to step out of the vehicle. They escorted her to an ATM gallery and withdrew all the money in her account. She added: “I was scared witless when I saw the guy holding a knife and the lady holding a gun. The guy with the knife followed me to the ATM gallery, while the other three stood not too far, watching. He held me so that people wouldn’t notice what was happening. He held the knife close to my stomach. He put the money into my handbag as I withdrew it. My hands shook throughout the process.”
If she thought they would allow her to go after emptying the account, she was sadly mistaken. She explained that they drove to a building that looks like a hotel. “There were arrangements of seats and tables like in hotel or eateries. I couldn’t however make out the name of the building. We all went into the building. I was ordered to sit down and others sat too. I was afraid. The guy and the lady that sat on the passenger seat with me in the taxi left. I was left alone with the cleric and driver. A few minutes later, the lady and the man returned. They however came back without the money,” said Oladele.
They all trailed back to the taxi and drove towards Iyano-Oba axis. Soon, Oladele could no longer identify any landmark. “They took a rough looking road and drove round for a while. The driver later stopped and I was ordered to step out. The cleric further ordered me not to look back as they drive away or they would kill me.” Petrified, she started walking down the road, shaking and refusing to look back. She met a motorist whom she begged to give her a lift after she explained her ordeal to him.
She recalled: “When they brought me out of the car, I was too tired and weak to walk. I couldn’t even carry myself. I was still shaking in fear and shock. It was the driver I flagged that assisted me to an area that I was familiar with. I had to beg people for money when I got to Agege in order to continue my journey. Begging for money was the height of humiliation for me! I however thanked God that they didn’t take my life, along with my money. As far as I’m concerned, they took my sorrow, pains and worries away by taking my money. I survived in spite of all the torture they put me through.”
The Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Kenneth Nwosu, said that people should always be vigilant wherever they are because the world is full of criminals with different tactics. Nwosu said that the police shouldn’t be the one to teach people what to watch out for while boarding commercial buses, taxis or cabs.
His words: “People should not be taught what to watch out for while boarding public transports. They should always use and rely on their instincts. Police can’t be everywhere to watch over buses and people to know which one they should or shouldn’t board.
There is no way one can tell which bus is the right one to board. The mistake people make is that when they encounter armed robbers, be it in a bus or anywhere, they usually don’t alert the police, so that police can know the next action to take! We have had many cases of such. A few people have reported to the police about the new tactics robbers now deploy and we took up the matter.
As policemen, we make sure every information given to us by victims are used to track the armed robbers. People should endeavour to report such matters to the nearest police station. If they don’t, more of these incidents will multiply every day!’’
Buttressing how effective police work on information, Nwosu said that on July 10, 2015, Police Operatives deployed to crush the disturbing menace of ‘One Chance Robbery Syndicates’ on Lagos roads, especially during traffic gridlocks associated with peak hours, intercepted a motorcycle with three passengers along Mile 2 axis of the Oshodi/ Apapa Express Road. Nwosu said: “On sighting the operatives, the passengers abandoned two bags they were carrying and fled.
Upon search of the bags by the operatives, some phones were recovered. Moments later, the owners of the phones started calling their lines and our operatives invited them to come for identification and collection. The phones were handed over to three of the owners by the Commissioner of Police in his office at Ikeja.
http://newtelegraphonline.com/a-new-way-to-steal/
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