Residents of Ebute-Meta (West) in Lagos Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State have cried out for help over incessant armed robbery attacks along Brewery Under Bridge and the Orile Iganmu axis.

Many of the residents, it was gathered, have lost property and other valuable items to armed robbers terrorising the district.

On Thursday, an electrician, Akinola Salau, was robbed of his prized possessions, including two phones, a laptop, and cash amounting to N170,000, by a six-man robbery gang armed with axes, machetes, and iron rods.

According to him, the robbery incident occurred along Brewery Under Bridge, between the National Theatre and Abebe Road along Orile Iganmu, around 8 p.m.

He explained further, “I am an electrician. I live in Magboro, Ogun State, but I work in Ebute Meta where I spend the week and return home for weekends. But on that fateful night, I was returning from the computer village in Ikeja where I had gone to repair my laptop. It was around 8 p.m., and there were few people around. Suddenly, these boys appeared from God knows where and swarmed on me. They were six in number and armed with axes, machetes, and an iron rod.

“They told me to surrender everything that I had on, but I insisted that I had nothing except the phone I was holding. One of them started dragging my laptop bag and at this point, I began to plead that the laptop wasn’t mine. I tried to force it out of the hand of the guy holding on to it, and out of anger, one of them axed me on the forehead and another on my waist. I passed out immediately.

“The moment the incident lasted, passersby were looking at us from afar, but they never deemed it fit to come to my rescue. I was in pain until one woman came to my rescue. I was taken to the guest house, where I was lounged, from where I was taken to a hospital, where my forehead was stitched.

“By the time I regained consciousness, my laptop, phones, and a cash of N170,000 had gone. While in pain, I quickly rushed to a nearby PoS from where I transferred the money I had In my account to another account to avoid another sad encounter.”

Another resident, a trader at Costain, Rukayat Alabi, said that about two weeks ago, a gang of armed robbers invaded Costain Under Bridge and dispossessed residents and passersby of their belongings.

According to her, robbery incidents are rampant along the Costain and National Theatre axis, calling for urgent police intervention.

She said, “Hardly would a day go by without a case of armed robbery attack along the under Bridge. It’s a frequent occurrence along the Costain, Brewery and Abebe road. We have witnessed armed robbers dispossessing residents and passersby of their belongings without a check on these nefarious activities. They are there along Eric-Moore Road that connects Orile and under the Orile Bridge.

“They come out only at night to perpetrate their evil acts and return into their shells. The police at the National Theatre are not helping matters. Instead of going after armed robbers that are disturbing the peace of the community, they raid innocent residents every night at Costain busstop. I am appealing to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to intensify patrol of the community to flush out criminal elements and keep the community safe.”

The traditional head of Otumara community, Apapa Road, Ojo-Oniyun and its environs, High Chief Kehinde Kalejaiye, also decried the increasing wave of armed robbery attacks within the community, especially along the National Theatre and Orile Iganmu axis.

According to him, criminals operate freely almost on a daily basis, terrorising innocent residents and passersby.

He complained, “Salau’s incidence is just one out of many. Almost on a daily basis, cases of armed robber attack are brought to my hearing and I try all I could to get the police informed. But with the recent attack on the victim, its obvious the situation has not been brought under control. Once it’s getting dark, many of the residents and passersby are engulfed in fear because from the Ijora pallette end, the boys would break out once its dark and launch an attack on innocent residents and passersby along the Covenant Church and Brewery under Bridge. The police need to act before the situation become worsen. They need to intensify patrol of the area and go after the miscreants and hoodlums terrorising the entire community.”

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command has vowed to intensify patrols and enforcement efforts across communities within the state to rid it of all forms of crime and criminality.

The police made the pledge in response to growing complaints by residents over the menace of armed robbery attacks on innocent citizens at several bus stops along the Ketu–Mile 12 route. Some identified robbery hotspots along the corridor include Costain, Mile 12 Under Bridge, and other parts of the state. (Saturday Tribune)