There was panic on Efon Alaye Close, Ojodu-Berger, Lagos, on Saturday,
as a four-man robbery gang operated freely in the area and vandalised
many vehicles.
A distress call to the 767 emergency line made
by one of the residents during the attack around 3.30am did not yield
positive results.
An official, who reportedly picked the call,
was said to have assured the caller that a team of the Rapid Response
Squad of the Lagos State Police Command would be deployed in the scene
shortly.
police patrol team from the Ojodu Police Station, a
short distance away from the scene, later arrived at the area around
5.30am, one and a half hours after the bandits had left.
One of
the victims, Olajoju Adekunle, who is a new tenant in the area and whose
Toyota Highlander was vandalised, lamented his loss, noting that the
incident happened on his first night in the apartment. He explained that
the gang scaled the fence to gain entry into the compound, where he
parked his vehicle.
He said, “My permanent residence is in
Mowe, on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State. I work in Ikeja. I
usually run into traffic while returning home in the evening, especially
now that construction is ongoing at the expressway. On Thursday, I left
the office around 4pm and got home at 9pm. I was so tired.
“I
rented the apartment in Ojodu about a week ago so that I could pass the
night there whenever there is traffic. I moved into the room on Friday
evening. I parked my vehicle in the compound alongside three other
neighbours’ cars.
“Around 3.30am, the theft alarm in my vehicle
went off and I woke up. When I peeped through the window to see what was
wrong, I saw some men on the premises.”
Adekunle stated that one
of the robbers corked his gun and threatened to shoot whoever came out,
while another moved around the compound, flashing a torch.
He
narrated that two other members of the gang broke the window of his
vehicle to gain entry and started removing some vital parts.
“One
of them was shouting, ‘I need blood! Come out!’ They also opened the
bonnet of my vehicle. I was shivering. It was a bad omen for such a
thing to happen on my first day in a new apartment. Saturday was also my
birthday.
“They flashed a torch into the other cars but they did
not vandalise them. They left the compound at 4am. When I came out from
my room, I saw that they had removed the brain box, headlamps, battery,
musical set, the two side mirrors and some other parts. It was a great
loss.”
A resident, who preferred to be identified simply as Tunde
for security reasons, said he woke up to use the toilet when he got
wind of the attack.
He said he managed to put a distress call to 767
and an official, who picked the call, promised that policemen would be
deployed in the scene immediately.
Tunde said, “I noticed that it
was a woman who picked the call. I gave her the address and she assured
me that RRS men would soon be there. To my surprise, no policeman came.
Those robbers left about 20 minutes after I made the call. If the
policemen had come on time, the hoodlums would have been caught in the
act.
“It was around 5am that I got a call from a policeman, who
said he was from the Ojodu Police Station. He asked me if the robbers
were still around. I was very angry. I insulted him and hung up on him. I
still have the call logs on my phone.
“About 30 minutes after,
four policemen came in a patrol van, blaring siren. They wanted to enter
the premises, and I accused them of being irresponsible. Ojodu-Berger
is less than five-minute drive to the close.”
Another resident,
whose company’s vehicle, a pickup van, was vandalised, was lamenting as
he said it was his first time of bringing the van home, adding that he
wanted to use it to convey some goods early on Saturday.
“I
parked the pickup by the roadside in front of my house. I wanted to go
out in the morning when I saw its side window broken. They (hoodlums)
removed the brain box and the battery. I don’t know what to tell my boss
now,” the man, who identified himself as Baba Dara, added.
A
landlord, who did not want his name publicised, said the incident made
it the third time this year when robbers would vandalise vehicles in the
area without any resistance.
He stated, “Security is very poor
here. We are supposed to engage armed security guards to man the
surroundings at night. But most of the landlords are nonchalant about
the recurring attacks. There was a time the robbers raided about three
streets and vandalised several vehicles.
“An SUV that was brought
to a mechanic workshop for repair was among the affected vehicles. They
removed the brain box, headlamps and the battery of the vehicle. The
mechanic had to run around to raise money to replace the stolen parts.
“We are also faced with incidences of thieves tearing window nets and stealing valuables.”
Reacting
to the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, CSP
Chike Oti, said the Ojodu Police Station was informed that there was a
distress call from the area at 5.25am.
“Policemen mobilised to
the scene immediately and got there at 5.30am. It was not a case of late
response; it was a case of not getting information on time. The Lagos
State Command is responsible and responsive. We don’t waste time in
responding to distress calls,” Oti added.
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