BY HUGO ODIOGOR

How group action helped me go after thieves – victim

January 6, 2012 was just like any other day, save that the atmosphere of tension was palpable. President Goodluck Jonathan had begun the new year for Nigerians on a hard note with the sudden removal of the presumed subsidy on Premium  Motor Spirit (PMS) and had created undue anxiety in the country, with Labour threatening to go on nationwide indefinite strike on January 9, 2012.

It was only six days into the new year and prospects of a disruptive strike was three days away. Journalists were on guard, as  something was bound to  happen one way or the other.

This was the prevailing mood of the nation  as I left the premises of Vanguard newspapers at about 8.30 pm on that fateful Saturday evening. I was driving home to Ago-Okota in Isolo local Council Development Area, from the Apapa end of the Oshodi Apapa expressway.

Leaving office  about that time any day is fraught with danger as the stretch of the road from Euro 65 premises of Julius Berger , down to under the bridge in Mile 2, is haven for criminals  who dispossess  car owners and unsuspecting pedestrians of their valuables ranging from  money, handsets, laptops to Ipads.

Once there is traffic hold up, the criminals would pounce in group of 3s and 4s. They knock on the window glasses of cars,  wielding dangerous weapons, and asking the occupants to wind down. They threaten to harm the occupants if they resist. Of course, most victims would prefer to part with the items that are demanded by the hoodlums than risk any bodily harm, which could be fatal.

This was the setting when I drove into a traffic bottleneck. It did not take time before three of the thieves  appeared and began hitting on the window of my car. At first, they were begging for money to eat. To me ,it seems that their intention was to ask for money to feed.

alleged robbers

With the unexpected hardship unleashed on Nigerians by the sudden hike in the price of petroleum products, the logical thing would be to give them money and let peace reign. But that was not to be. I wound down to give then N1,000 note, but that turned out to be a mistake.

They quickly pounced and in full public glare. The tanker drivers that caused the traffic gridlock watched with glee as the thieves forced their hands into my car to collect my Blackberry and some cash. In the struggle to drive to a safer lane, I bumped into another car also in the traffic. The owners came out  not knowing what was happening. By this time, the thieves had gotten what they wanted and began walking away.

I came out of my car to see the extent of the damage done to my car and the one I bumped into. It was a minor scratch, but on hearing that I had just been robbed, one of the occupants of the car I ran into asked that we should chase the thieves. I later found out that he is a Naval personnel. I locked my car and we took  a risky venture to chase after the thieves.

They panicked on sighting our quick response. They began running towards the Army Signal Barracks. But  unfortunately, for them, they ran into a motorised Police patrol which was parked on  the way to Orile from Apapa Oshodi express. This forced them to run back and they met a team that had mobilised to assist us chase the thieves.

Seeing that they were trapped, one of them ran into a container left by the construction company carrying out construction work on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway. We went for him while the other two escaped. He was caught red handed by the police patrol team which had joined in the chase. It was a twenty minute action, but it was intriguing  all the same.

The police accompanied me as we took him to the police station. On Monday, January 9, 2012, the nationwide strike began. He was detained until after the strike. The case was finally charged to court at a Magistrate Court at Boundary, Ajegunle.

From January to April, I followed the case until the criminal was finally jailed. Lagos is a place where people lack the courage to collectively fight evil. Just as Nigerians mobilised to stop the fuel subsidy cabal, a group action helped me to go after the thieves.

It is only in our numbers that we can find solution to acts of evil doings plaguing our country. If we chicken out, criminals will prevail. Even as I write, so many people are robbed in this Mile 2 den of thieves.