Tunde was mugged by a three-man gang in broad day light. It was Saturday morning, and as usual, Tunde was doing his normal early morning walk. At first, he thought the boys were the usual beggars that have become part of everyday living in the Ajah area.
“I was on my usual early Saturday morning walk along the Admiralty Way when these boys walked up to me. At first, I thought they were beggars, but one of them just pulled his shirt up and I saw a shot gun tucked into his trousers. I froze immediately and thought I would be killed,” Tunde explained his encounter with muggers.
He was lucky to tell his story, but parted with his expensive Apple watch, a Samsung phone, some cash and an ATM card he was carrying with him. By afternoon of the same day, his account had been depleted to the tune of N300, 000.
Tunde is not the only one with such ugly experience. Chucks, who lives in the Jakande area of Lekki area, needed weeks of therapy after his traumtic encounter with traffic robbers. He was on his way home from work, tired and hungry. But the traffic was not helping matters, as vehicles were restricted bumper to bumper. “I was tired and very hungry on this particular day. The only thing on my mind was how to get home and eat. Traffic was terrible and hostile. I was suddenly jolted by a loud noise on the car window.”
Chucks said he was scared but relunctant to wind down his car glass. Within the few seconds, several things raced through his mind. Then he remembered his wife, his little son and of course, his aged parents. “As all those thing played out in my mind, I simply melted and rolled down the glass. It was at that point that I realised that I was not the only person the guys robbed on that particualr night. They did their job and left just as they appear without any hinderance.”
Again, by the time the robbers left, Chucks and several of the motorists have been dispossed of their valuables. Unfortunately, experiences like these have become an almost everyday affair. A resident who pleaded anonimity for fear of retribution, listed the areas most affected to include Admiralty Way, Freedom Way, Jakande, Chevron, Ajah and Agungi among others.
The resident lamented the incursion into the area of many strange faces, who he claimed operate as beggars in the day and turn robbers at night. He and several other residents are surprised over the sudden turn of events in the once peaceful and serene neighbourhoods.
“It is indeed a big surprise that Lekki could turn to what we are experiencing these days. In the past, the mention of Lekki speaks volume about affluence. But all those have changed. Sometimes, when you walk round, you could mistake Lekki for Mushin or Shomolu. Everywhere you go, you see these hoodlums everywhere.”
The residents are calling on the police and Governor Babajide Sanwoolu to come to their rescue. They are unanimous in their cry to government to evacuate all the destitutes from the area and ensure that enough policemen are posted there to maintain law and order.
“I really dont know why it is difficult for government to evacuate these hoodlums from these areas. The government simply nned to put in place a law prohibiting begging on the streets and peace will return. These boys hide under the guise of begging during the day. But at night, they rob the people at will,” another resident said.
A resident, Abimbola Iyiola said: ‘’From Jakande around Shoprite, Mobil axis, Igboefon and VGC, these hoodlums who pretend to be beggars in the day cluster, but they are criminals in the night and some of them have been caught or sighted robbing innocent residents.
“The situation was not like this during Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration and it is worrisome that security laxity is what these urchins are leveraging to make life unbearable for residents.’’
A former councilor in the area who spoke in confidence, urged police authorities and other law enforcement agencies to embark on constant surveillance and patrol in order to flush out the hoodlums.
He said: “Police and other minions of law should step up surveillance ad patrol of these neighbourhoods in order to put a check on these hoodlums and chase them away from our communities.’’
