Apprehension continues to reign among Lagos residents as armed robbery attacks rise on daily basis, especially in the city suburbs, where young men, popularly called area boys, stop commercial vehicles and attack the occupants with knives and other lethal implements.
The number of these boys, who operate generally at bus stops and dark spots on major roads in the metropolis, has increased significantly with the absence of security agencies who have stayed away from their duty posts after attacks on their officers and stations during the EndSARS protest.
“I was attacked this morning on my way to work shortly after the Badore Bridge on the LASU-Isheri Road. These boys have taken over all spots that used to be police checkpoints. They are there early morning and late night,” said a commuter who introduced himself simply as Taofeek.
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Continuing, he said, “these boys stopped our vehicle; we all thought they were passengers like us. But the moment they entered, they brought out knives and started robbing everybody. Many were dispossessed of their phones and other valuables. It was in my attempt to escape that I sustained these injuries.”
Taofeek’s case is not an isolated one. On Friday, last week, a middle-aged woman, a trader at Under Bridge Trade Fair food market, went home with matchet cuts after she was attacked by robbers operating along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
“These boys, about 10 of them, were just attacking everybody, snatching bags from women and collecting phones from the men. I resisted them when they came for my bag and that was when one of them cut my hand with the knife he was brandishing,” the woman explained.
Lagos residents have cried out to Governor Babatunde Sanwo-Olu to do something urgently to arrest this situation before it gets out of hand.
According to them, it is not enough for the governor to just make promises to the police officers. “The governor needs to walk the talk and he should liaise with the federal government to address the concerns of the police,” Segun Madamidola, a social worker, said at the weekend.
Since after the massive destruction that followed the killing of EndSARS protesters by trigger-happy elements suspected to be soldiers from the Nigeria Army, police officers whose colleagues and stations were destroyed in Lagos have decided to stay off the roads, making the environment very unsafe.
Besides armed robbery, traffic situation in Lagos has worsened considerably as motorists, especially mini-bus (Danfo) drivers, are having field day, driving against traffic, dropping and picking passengers anywhere and anyhow, have made the roads both chaotic and unsafe.
