Motorists and passengers plying the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway have lamented the increase in the operations of ‘one-chance’ robbers in the Mowe/Ibafo-Berger area of the road.
Some passengers who spoke to PUNCH Metro at the weekend said the road is no longer safe for them to use due to the activities of ‘one-chance’ criminals.
A teacher, Sarah Oladele, told our correspondent that she no longer goes out once it is 7pm.
“I no longer go out once the time is 7pm. I also make sure that I come back home from wherever I go as quickly as possible.
“Passing that road by that time is dangerous and I would not want anything to happen to me or my children. May God continue to protect us,” Oladele said.
A hawker, who gave her name as Rebecca, said she only plies the road because there is no alternative.
She said, “The only reason I still follow the road is that there is no other road for me to pass. The activities of those ‘one-chance’ people are getting too much.
“Just last week, my brother was a victim of their activities. They collected his phone and the little cash he had with him before they dropped him off at Berger.
“In the last month, I know about four people who have been robbed and attacked by them. One of them was even stabbed in his hand when he tried to struggle with them.”
A bus driver, Kamoru Babajide, said he avoids carrying more than three male passengers in his minibus, popularly known as ‘korope.’
“I drive a Korope and I don’t usually carry more than three male passengers at a time. When there are too many male passengers in the vehicle and it’s not full yet, it’s usually hard to get more passengers because everybody is trying to be careful not to enter one chance,” Babajide said.
A victim of one-chance robbery, who identified himself simply as A.Y., said he was held at gunpoint in a vehicle he boarded to Berger.
“I entered Korope from Ibafo to Berger. When I entered, there was one remaining seat so one person entered but he dropped at Magboro.
“When we got to Opic, that was where they brought out a knife and they asked me to give them my bag and my phone, which I did. I was very scared. When we got to New Garage, they just pushed me out of the bus,” he said.
When asked about the measures the Ogun State Command is taking to deal with the situation, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Omolola Odutola, said the DPOs in the area have been ordered to intensify patrol along the area.
She said, “The DPOs comprising Mowe, Ibafo, Redeem and Sagamu patrol the axis to secure that territory against ‘one chance.’”
She also reassured the public that any complaint related to the menace would be promptly investigated and the culprits prosecuted. – Punch.
