Those were the words of a policeman attached to the Lagos State Police Command. He had boarded a commercial bus at Ladipo Bus Stop, along Agege Motor Road, unaware he was walking into a nest of vipers, otherwise called ‘One Chance Robbers.’ The men didn’t only rob him; they also induced him into a deep sleep.
The policeman, who doesn’t wished to be named, said he woke up the following day to find himself in Ibadan, dumped by the road side. For the purpose of this story however, he will be called Joseph. The policeman was specifically grateful to God because earlier this year, his close friend, a mobile policeman, met a gruesome death after boarding a ‘One Chance’ bus. The friend left office in his uniform after close of work, but his corpse was found outside Lagos the following day.
The mobile policeman’s eyes had been plucked out and his stomach dissected. Also, his intestines were removed and his uniform discarded. Recalling how he boarded the bus on August 17, 2015, Joseph said he was returning from his office at Ikeja, heading home to Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, when he ran into thecriminals. His recalled: “I boarded the bus from Ladipo Bus Stop, Agege Motor Road.
It was painted in blue colour. I saw two passengers boarding before I joined. The time was around 10p.m. There were about five passengers in the bus, including myself and the driver. A few minutes after I boarded, two of the supposed passengers whipped out guns. They searched me. I was shaking. I was born and brought up in Deeper Life Bible Church, but I simply forgot to pray. I was too scared.
“They didn’t find anything on me, except my two phones and my transport fare. They collected them. I wasn’t in my police uniform and I thanked God that I didn’t carry my police identity card. Who knows what they would have done! Few minutes after they searched and collected my phones, I still can’t fathom what happened next. I only knew that I fell asleep!” He explained that he woke up around 5a.m and discovered that he was lying on the ground, by the roadside. The day was not yet bright and he wondered where he was. He soon discovered that he was on Iwo Road in Ibadan.
He became frantic, scared that some of his body parts had been taken. But everything was intact as he soon discovered. His mind flashed back to his boarding the bus and the robbery, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t understand or recollect what the armed robbers did to induce him into such a deep sleep. He said: “I didn’t even know when they dumped me by the roadside. They could have done anything with me in that state! I knelt down and praised God. They could have used me for ritual while I was fast asleep. I kept remembering my friend who was killed in the same manner. He boarded the wrong bus just like me!”
He noticed that commuters were beginning to move about on Iwo Road and approached a man. He explained his predicament to the man, begging for the use of the man’s phone. The man obliged him. “The first person I called was my friend living in Ibadan. He said he wasn’t around. I called my mother. She lives in Ogun State. She came to pick me. She kept praising God.
She said that the God that brought me to her won’t disappoint. We attend Deeper Life. My mother told me that before I was born, she and the church members embarked on prayers and God gave me to her. I’m a miracle child. I’d never experienced ‘one chance’ robbers before that incident. “I’ve heard about it and even read about it in police signals. I never knew it would happen to me!
One thing is for sure; most of these criminals come from Ibadan! Those that robbed me spoke in Yoruba. They looked young; probably in their thirties,” he recalled. Joseph is not alone in this harrowing experience as many Lagosians have fallen victim of the crime. Some years back, these crooks would pick passengers in commercial buses, rob them of their valuables and later push them out of the moving vehicles.
But today however, the act has taken on a more sinister undertone. Some of them not only rob their victims, but also hypnotised and use them for rituals. The new face of ‘One Chance Robbers’ today is witnessing the gunmen, collecting Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and PINs from passengers at gunpoint. They would later empty the victim’s account. Sometimes, they follow the victim to the gallery to cash the money before disappearing.
These days, the robbers, operate with female partners. The use of female is a mark of genius as their presence reduces suspicion. Mrs. Yemisi Olawale-Aina was robbed in such a manner this year. The mother of three fell into the hands of these villains on April 26, 2015, around 6a.m at Berger bus-stop on Oworonshoki Expressway, as she was heading to her office at Ikoyi.
By the time she realised that the passengers were all men, it was already too late. When it was time to rob her, they ordered her to sit on the floor of the bus. She wanted to resist, but one of them warned: “If you don’t cooperate, I’ll order my boys to waste you!” They took her handbag, wedding ring, earrings and necklace. She recounted: “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 as I knew I had no option.”
The men drove to an ATM gallery at a location she didn’t know. One of them left with the ATM card and returned about 15 minutes later. The supposed conductor of the bus later gently returned her handbag, earrings, wedding ring and told her that the items were not gold. But they held onto her ATM card. The woman said: “I thought they wanted to kidnap me. One of them 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, added: “Even though they took my ATM card and my money, they didn’t take my life!” Olawale-Aina said Nigerians should be cautious. “People should be extra careful in boarding buses when all the passengers are men. In fact, they should not board a bus that has only male passengers!”
Miss Esther Oladele lost her life’s savings to these criminals after she boarded a cab at First Gate Bus Stop, Agidingbi, Ikeja. She was heading to Alausa, Ikeja and the time was 12:30pm. There was a ‘passenger’ in the front seat with the driver and he was dressed like a Muslim cleric. A lady and another man sat in the back seat while Oladele was the third passenger at the back. When one of the men demanded for her handbag, she thought he was joking. When the lady in the cab, however, gave her a hot slap and showed her a gun, she knew she was in trouble.
They collected her ATM card and PIN and cleared her account, before allowing her to go. She added: “I was scared witless when I saw the guy holding a knife and the lady with 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.” Glory Francis said she was once in a tricycle, when a lady recounted a friend’s experience.
According to the lady, people now use tricycles for ‘one-chance’ crime. Once the supposed driver wipes the seat of the tricycle with a hankie, the passenger who sits on the seat would likely fall into a deep sleep. This makes it easier for the driver to take the passenger to any location for evil purpose. A policeman in Lagos said that investigations at police disposal revealed that ‘onechance robbers’ are back in the Centre of Excellence and are increasing every day. “People should stop carrying their ATM cards around,” said a policeman.
“Perhaps police should look at creating checkpoints.” Joseph said: “There’s no way one can help falling victim! As long as you board commercial buses and don’t have your own car, you may fall into their hands. But these men are fully in Lagos now!” He urged the government to provide jobs for the large number of unemployed youths, adding: “The guys that robbed me are young. They are probably jobless. Parents can help in stemming the tide of ‘onechance’ robberies by ensuring they follow up on their kids, no matter their ages, work or where they live.”
Another new antic of ‘one chance’ robbers is that they could drive up to a well dressed bystander or pedestrian and force the person in their car. Sunday Telegraph learnt that the new trend is giving security agencies cause for concern. On Thursday night, unknown men riding in a acar reportedly dragged a lady into their car at a spot on Victoria Island and drove away.
The trend is also noticeable in some other parts of the country. A top security source said the target of criminal gangs these days is ATM cards. However, some observers wondered why banks had been unable to provide footage from security cameras to aid in the apprehension of these ATM robbers.
The absence of CCTV cameras in major spots across the country is also said to be a major drawback to the efforts of security agencies to curb the problem. However, President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to provide the gadgets is expected to significantly aid the efforts of security agencies in dealing with such criminals. A security source said the massive patrol of major cities nationwide by uniformed and undercover policemen in unmarked cars was a key strategy in the fight against sundry criminals.
Efforts to obtain comments from top security officers proved abortive. Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, could not be reached on the telephone. Also, the absence of a spokesperson for the Deparment of State Security prevented our correspondent from obtaining comments from the agency.
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