Taiwo Jimoh
Nigerians who have taken to operating Point
of Sales Operators (POS) as a means of business and survival are living in fear
following reported cases of robbers hunting and targeting such people.
Operators in Mowe, Obafemi Owode Local
Government Area of Ogun State and those in Ayobo area of Lagos State have
already experienced the venoms of these robbers and are still recounting the
incidents.
At the Mowe community in Ogun State,
residents were alleged to have got used to their homes and shops being burgled.
They also accepted that nothing could be done by security agents in Ogun State
about incessant cases of motorcycles snatchings, but presently, they are
visibly perturbed following this single minded latest attacks of POS operators.
The daredevil robbers, on most nights,
will attack the home of an operator and dispossessed the victim of all his or
her money, used in transacting the business. They also collect other valuables.
One of their victims at Mowe, who simply
gave her name simply as Alhaja Bola, explained that she and her husband were
sleeping with her children when the robbers scaled the fence of their building
and gained entry into the compound. The time was about past 12am.
She said: “When they came in, none of us
knew they were already inside the sitting room. They started shouting, ‘where is the money? Where is the money?’ When I heard the strange voices, I stood
up from the mattress. The next person I met on the road was one of the robbers,
who marched me to my children’s rooms and ordered everyone to get up.
“The robbers were young boys between
ages of 18 and 25. They ordered my children and I to lay faced-down and further
threatened to kill whoever dares to look at them. At that point, a lot of
things went through my mind. But most importantly, I thought of my children; I
didn’t want anything to happen to them. I prayed.
“While all these were going on, three
among the robbers went into the rooms and assigned two people to guard us. To
my shock, the robbers ransacked the whole apartment and brought out every
valuable they could find. They also collected about 10 phones from my children
and carted away N500, 000 I use for my POS transactions.”
Bola added: “The robbers, who were armed
with locally made guns, took their time to finish the operation before leaving
two hours later. They then went to Olajide Close, where they also spent
additional two hours and robbed a couple of their money and valuables before
leaving.
“As I speak with you now, I have not
overcome the trauma of the robbery attack. Even my children, who are adults,
are also afraid to sleep in their rooms. None of us had ever had a gun pointed
at him or her, let alone my children.”
Bola’s son, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
explained that the robbers came fully prepared for the operations. According to
him, they took their time to ransack apartments and carted whatever tickled
their fancies.
He noted that the day after the
incident, the matter was reported at Mowe Police Divisional Headquarters for
possible arrest of the suspects, but no arrest had been made.
Our correspondent, who went to the
community, heard from angry residents that policemen in the axis preferred chasing
cyclists and extorting them, than embarking on patrol of communities.
Our correspondent further went to Olajide
Close, but the victims of the robbers attack were not at home.
On June 20, another set of robbers stormed
Mukadmu Street, where a POS operator was also robbed of N1million in her home.
The victim, who gave her name simply as
Barakat alias Iya road safety said that fateful day, was a day she would never
forget for as long as she lives.
She recalled: “On that fateful day, I
started transaction on a good note, but around 1a.m. we were sleeping when the
strange visitors came and started banging on our gate. They ordered us to open
the door and further threatened to deal with us if they found their way into
our apartment themselves. Out of panic, my husband didn’t open the door. They
finally scaled the fence to gain access into our compound. When they got into
our sitting room, my husband and I had already said our last prayers; yes, we
thought they would do as they had earlier threatened. “Luckily for us, they
didn’t touch us, but they ransacked the rooms for money and valuables. They
came out with N1 million. It was the money I had just collected from the
cooperatives society. I wanted to use the money to boost my business. Immediately
I saw the bag containing the money, I urinated on my body. I knew there was no
way I could return the money to the cooperative.”
Barakat noted that since the incident,
police had not been able to arrest the suspects, while she’s now depending on
her children to feed. She said that the robbery wrecked her business.
Police source at Mowe Divisional
Headquarters told our correspondent that on daily basis, they received complaints
of POS operators being attacked. The source promised that the police were
already having series of meetings with the operators on precautionary method of
doing business in a community like Mowe and its environs.
At House No. 5 Shotayo Adebayo Streets,
Abesan, Mosan Okunola Local Council Development Area, similar attack played
out. One of the victims was Mrs Nike Akande.
The woman narrated that the robbers
collected money in her apartment, which she had earlier borrowed from
cooperative society. She disclosed that the robbery and carting away of the
money left her devastated.
Akande, a widow, who lost her husband
four years ago, decided to go into POS business as a result of her ill health.
She revealed that since the death of her husband, things had not been the same
for her and her children.
She said: “I was given N1.2million by my
husband family members after the demise of my husband, to take care of my
children. I decided to go into POS business, so as to have a close look on my
younger children, because my first daughter just got admission into the
University of Ibadan to study Medicine and Surgery.
“Thank God when I started business,
there was little patronage, but as time progresses, people started coming and the
money was yielding profit. I used to close business at exactly 7pm; I don’t go
beyond that hour.
“On that fateful day, I was about to
lock the main gate to our compound when three guys hijacked the gate from me
and forced their way into my compound. Before I realised what was happening, they
had brought out guns and ordered me into my sitting room. Unfortunately, none of
our neighbours knew what was happening.
“When the robbers entered the sitting
room, they sat on a couch chair and asked me to entertain them. Out of panic, I
went into the kitchen and got them soft drinks, after which I begged and told
them that I was a widow, that they should have mercy on me. I was just shocked
speechless when they told me how much they came to rob from me. When I pleaded
with them, I was told to go and bring N1million. I begged them that the only
money I had in the house was N500,000. They
collected the money and asked me to pray for them, which I did and then they
left. It was after they had gone that I ran out and started shouting; it was my
cries that attracted my tenants. We checked round the whole community if could
get them, unfortunately, we couldn’t traced them. That was how I lost my
money.”
No comments:
Post a Comment