Almost every major city in the country experiences one form of criminal activity or another. In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), activities of one chance criminals, burglars, petty thieves, among others have been giving residents a lot of concern, even as law enforcement agencies make efforts to check the trend. PAUL OKAH reports.
Ranging from its being “the work of the devil” to poverty and economic hardship, criminals always have one form of excuse or the other to give for indulging in crime whenever they are arrested by the police or being prosecuted in court; that is if they survive the jungle justice meted out to them in different parts of the country.
However, to those who fall prey to one chance operators, burglars and petty thieves, the criminals should be shot at sight for the pains and anguish they inflict on their “lucky” victims, as many of the victims are killed for resistance or “disobedience” during armed robbery operations, especially in the FCT.
While many of the criminals have been escaping the long arm of the law and inflicting various degrees of injury on their victims in the course of their operations, others have been arrested, paraded and prosecuted by the police, even as many “fortunate” criminals have been saved from being lynched by mobs.
Blueprint Weekend’s investigations revealed that burglary is rampant particularly in the suburbs and satellite towns of the FCT, including Kuje, Karu, Nyanya, Gwagwalada, Lugbe, Kugbo, Karshi, Mpape, Jahi, Utako, among others, as residents sleep with their eyes open, for fear of their houses being burgled while they sleep or even being killed by marauding armed robbers.
Even while away on social or religious activities, like attending weddings or church/mosque worships, many victims have returned to see their houses burgled in their absence in different parts of the capital territory.
Narrating his experience an exclusive chat with Blueprint Weekend, a resident of Jahi 1 in Abuja, Mr Peter Okafor, told this reporter that his house was burgled on August 17, this year, as he was away to earn his daily bread as trader.
He said, “I left the house very early to open my shop in Wuse market, where I sell electronics. I was busy in the market and couldn’t have suspected that someone was burgling my house while I was earning my daily bread. I am not married and I am living alone, so, there is usually no one in my apartment when I am away for business.
“However, I returned home after the close of business to realise that my door had been forced open. The first thing I noticed was my television and other electronics that were missing. My first reaction was to shout, but then one hardly knows anything in this area. I even suspect some of my neighbours, as they may be monitoring my movements to know when I am away.”
Journalist killed, others attacked
On January 18, 2019, armed robbers attacked and stabbed to death a journalist with the Radio Nigeria, Abuja, Mr Chris Edoga.
According to Punch newspapers, the deceased was at his home in the Gwagwalada area of the FCT when the yet-to-be-identified hoodlums raided his apartment and stabbed him. He was rushed to the hospital by good Samaritans, but he died the next day.
A colleague of the deceased, Kayode Irebi, said Edoga was sleeping when he was awakened by strange noise in his apartment and on close examination of where the noise was coming from, the deceased saw the unwanted guests carting away his television set as well as other personal effects.
Irebi said, “Edoga was sleeping and woke up to find unknown people ransacking his property; on seeing that he had woken up, the hoodlums attacked and stabbed him with a knife in the head and the stomach. He suffered a ruptured intestine and was subsequently rushed to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital on Tuesday, but he was not operated on until 24 hours later. He died during the surgical procedure.”
Hoodlums have been terrorising residents of Gwagwalada area council in the last two months, operating in groups armed with automatic weapons and machetes.
A victim, who gave her name simply as Kehinde, said the criminals robbed the residents of a street on the old Kutunku area in January, this year, carting away property and money.
Kehinde, who is a radio presenter, said the gang scaled the fence into her residence, cut the iron doors and raided the four apartments within the compound.
“They cut the iron burglary door and stole the 42-inch television set in my living room, the 35-inch television set in the bedroom, my laptop, phones and N15, 000. They also attacked the other three apartments, taking away home appliances and other personal effects. I was so scared,” she stated.
Another victim of a similar attack, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the police did not show up throughout the four-hour ordeal, adding that despite lodging a report about the incident in the morning, no police operative visited the scene of the attack.
One chance criminals hold sway
Blueprint Weekend’s investigations reveal that, apart from burglars, activities of one chance criminals also form part of the fears of FCT residents. Many residents of the nation’s capital have come in contact with the criminals at different times and have different stories to tell. The criminals sometimes move around with PoS devices and force victims to transfer money to designated accounts at gunpoint.
They usually have members of the gang in the bus or taxi, who pretend to be genuine passengers and drive around looking for victims. However, unlike genuine commercial drivers, they do not pick more than one or two victims at a time. Then they drive the unsuspecting victims to a remote place, where they are threatened with guns, cutlasses, charms or other dangerous weapons and then dispossessed of either their money, handsets, laptops or other valuables.
Sometimes, after dispossessing the unsuspecting passenger-victims of their valuables, the criminal gang pushes them out of the moving vehicle or, if they are kind enough, they stop for their victims to alight, before they zoom off to share their loot or rob other victims. But those pushed off the taxis and buses can be said to be the lucky ones, as some victims have equally been raped (in the case of women) or used for ritual purposes, with their mutilated bodies found by the road side.
Their mode of operation, Blueprint Weekend’s investigations further revealed, to ensure successful operations and to avoid a run-in with the police, these “one chance” criminals operate mostly during the early hours of the morning and late in the evening. Usually at this time, there is a rush by those going to work early in the morning, to avoid traffic congestion.
Then, in the evening, those returning from work or their places of business, a busy day, would only be interested in getting home to rest and would naturally hop into any available vehicle, thereby falling victim to the activities of one chance criminals.
Hypnotising, robbing residents
Narrating his experience to Blueprint Weekend in an exclusive chat, a recent victim of the one chance trend, Mr Ibrahim Dangata, said he was hypnotised, robbed and injured by the criminals on his way to Wuse from Mararaba, just few weeks ago.
He told this reporter, in a Whatsapp chat, that he lost consciousness after coming in contact with “one chance” criminals and found himself in Abuja National Hospital.
He said: “Some weeks ago, I went to Mararaba to check on a friend. On my way back, I boarded a car in private colour heading to Wuse-Berger. In the vehicle, there was just the driver and a passenger. About few kilometres to AYA, the man at the front kindly asked me to help him buy pure water, so he gave me N20. That was all I could remember, until I found myself at the National Hospital in Abuja.
“My phones and some of my belongings were stolen and I sustained injury on my body, my face and I lost a tooth. When I asked my brother, he said they searched for me for hours, but a policeman later called them that they found my living body around Jabi. So, they brought me to the National Hospital, where, after many days, I had a surgery and spent about N400, 000 on my medical care. It was a very sad experience.”
Rescuing criminals
Fortunately for them, on July 3, this year, operatives of the FCT police command rescued four members of a suspected ‘one-chance’ robbery gang from being lynched by a mob on Kubwa expressway, Abuja.
The intervention of the police patrol team saved the suspects identified as Lydia Agabi, 23, Glory George, 24, Ifeoma Ekweme, 39, and Eleojo David, 37, from the mob who had already set their operational car ablaze.
The three female gang members were also reportedly stripped naked by their assailants, who were about to mete out jungle justice on them, but for the timely arrival of the police.
The FCT police spokesman, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, explained in a statement that the suspects had dispossessed their victim of N83, 000 cash before they were intercepted by commuters, while a member of the gang, Ifeanyi Kanu, 27, who hitherto escaped with their victim’s cash, was also arrested, with the sum of N53, 000 and the victim’s phone recovered from him. The command pledged to prosecute the suspects after investigation.
The command condemned the resort to jungle justice by the people, adding that stripping the ladies naked was uncalled for, and that “two wrongs cannot make a right.”
The police said, “Investigation has revealed that the ‘one-chance’ robbery gang operates along Kubwa expressway in Abuja. On the said date, they robbed an unsuspecting female passenger of N83, 000. The victim, who boarded the car used by the syndicate from Dei Dei enroute Dutsen Alhaji was robbed along the way of her phone and cash. However, the suspects were intercepted by commuters following the alarm raised by the victim.
“The suspects have been given medical attention and are cooperating with the police in the ongoing investigation. The command is hereby assuring members of the public that efforts are being intensified to arrest the ‘one-chance’ syndrome in the FCT.”
The ‘armourer’
On August 14, this year, the FCT police command said it arrested a man described as the “armourer” of an armed robbery syndicate in the capital city. The suspect, one Michael Olajire, was among several suspected criminals paraded by the Commissioner of Police in the FCT, Bala Ciroma.
His arrest was said to have been sequel to an ongoing investigation by operatives of the command’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) into the activities of “a vicious armed robbery syndicate that is notorious for raping its female victims during it robbery operations”.
The CP said the suspect, who has been on the run following the arrest of some members of his gang in 2018, was arrested at his hideout in Byazine, Kubwa.
“One locally fabricated pistol and two live ammunitions have been recovered from him as exhibits. He will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigation,” he said.
One-chance too
In a related development, the CP also informed of the arrest of several suspected one-chance robbers that have been terrorising residents of the capital city and its satellite towns.
It was gathered that the syndicate operates in a black Golf 3 car loaded with bags of pure water (sachet water) to allay any form of suspicion. The suspects arrested are: Oryu Ugo, Terdoo Zugo and Monday Godwin.
They were said to have been arrested at their hideout in Uke, Nasarawa state. CP Ciroma also revealed that one Peter Achaku, aka promotion, and Anthony Tega, who he described as members of a notorious one-chance robbery syndicate, who operate in a green Golf 3 car along AYA to Zuba axis, were arrested on August 3 by SARS operatives.
He said, “On August 01, 2019, acting on intelligence, operatives of the command’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) busted another one-chance robbery syndicate which operates between AYA (Asokoro), Kubwa, Zuba and Nyanya axis.”
The police boss also informed of the arrest of one Sheriff Kaliph, who he said used toy gun to rob his victims of their valuables. “The suspect was arrested at Lokoja, Kogi State. One Toyota RAV 4 jeep, one KIA Altima and one toy gun were recovered from him as exhibits.
“Following a discreet investigation, police operatives attached to this command have arrested one Chibuzor Anufuna, Sani Abdullahi and Abdullahi Danladi in possession of a Toyota Camry car which was reported stolen in Kebbi state. The suspects, who have made useful confessions on their involvement in the case, will soon be handed over to Kebbi state police command for continuation of investigation.”
10 burglars nabbed
On June 28, 2019, the a statement by the spokesman of the FCT command, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, said SARS from the Command arrested 10 suspected armed robbers said to be terrorising residents of Gwagwalada town and its environs after a tip off.
He said the suspects, who were members of a notorious armed robbery gang that robbed and attacked their victims with dangerous weapons, were arrested at an uncompleted building, which he said they used as their hideout and that the suspects have confessed to their participation in criminal activities like housebreaking, phone snatching and armed robbery.
He said a 54-year-old man, Salisu Ali, was the major receiver of the items stolen by the suspects, adding that the exhibits recovered from suspects included three Plasma television sets, two generators, three laptops, one axe, one dagger, assorted charms, jewellery, clothes, shoes among others.
Anjuguri further said the operatives of the command also arrested one Kamal Gali, who specialised in attacking his victims with dangerous weapons and dispossessing them of their valuables, adding that the suspect was arrested after a complaint was received by one of his victims. According to Anjuguri, the police operatives swung into action and traced the suspect to his hideout at Jabi forest where he was arrested.
“And he has made useful statement about his involvement in the crime, while exhibits recovered from him include one jack knife, one Infinix phone and one Samsung Duos phone,” he said.
