They cringe at the sight of strangers and so it was when The Nation visited their domain. Like fugitives, the haggard-looking young men retreated back to their shanties speaking in hush tones and waiting to see what the strangers were in for. Within a space of time, information travelled fast on the wings of the air alerting others of the presence of visitors in their enclave.
Instantly, the thick smoke coming from various sizes of Indian hemp and other substances they were consuming evaporated as their eye balls roved round the sockets scanning the environment to know what was in the offing. The beat also momentarily stopped at the various gambling spots as the dishevelled groups repositioned to size up the unsolicited guests.
Realising that our correspondents were no threats to their businesses, they quickly resumed their unholy activities. This time, they inhaled the smoke from their various substances deeper than they did before and puffed it out in a manner that a rickety vehicle would remorselessly pollute the environment. In the height of their ecstasy, they increased the volume of the music blasting from the tape positioned in a corner and moved awkwardly to the beat.
“No kain! Carry go guys, dem no be cat (security operatives)” one of them, presumed to be the chief spy alerted his colleagues as skimpily dressed young ladies, wearing multiple earrings, majestically walked out to join their male counterparts.
This was a scene that played out in one of the riverine areas along Amuwo Odofin when The Nation visited the community on Wednesday. Checks in some other similar communities revealed that it is a common feature of most riverine communities within and outside Lagos State. The riverine communities located along Ikorodu, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos Island, Badagry and some suburbs of Ogun State have severally been used as entry and exit points by robbers, kidnappers and vandals who take pleasure in unleashing terror on corporate organisations, banks to be specific, and individuals suspected to be well to do in the society.
Findings revealed that the activities of this set of idle young men have become a thorn in the flesh of innocent members of the embattled communities. “We have been living in fears since with the spate of robbery and kidnapping activities on the river recently. It is worrisome because there are so many undesirable elements infiltrating our areas over the years. They have no legitimate jobs that you can point at that they are doing. The only thing they do is to smoke all manners of things they wrap in papers, drink and gamble all day.
“ What we have observed is that these people engage in shady deals. They work with hoodlums within and outside this vicinity to carry out their nefarious activities. When they are doing their things, you dare not go there. If you go close to them, you will have yourself to blame,” Rev Jones, a resident of one of the riverine communities in Amuwo Odofin, said.
He attributed the increasing activities of hoodlums on waterways in the state to the absence of adequate security, saying: “ The hoodlums, especially those that are good at using the waters, have found the rivers as better alternative in carrying out their activities because the security on the water ways is porous. You can travel a whole week on the rivers without anybody asking you what your mission is. This is what the criminals have capitalised on and using to their advantage.’’
Another resident of the area, who simply identified himself as Engineer Dosunmu, said: “Some of these guys work as spies for other criminals operating in different areas. There is always a kind of synergy between the hoodlums in the area that is attacked and the ones that are coming to attack. If you don’t know, different gangs control the various waterways and they work together. At times, some of the hoodlums in the attacked environment survey the land and give information about financial institutions and privileged individuals in the community to their colleagues in other areas. It is a big network that transcends Lagos State.
“The huge challenge is that many innocent children are quick to team up with these guys because they get cheap money and indulge in extravagant lifestyles. Most children in this neighbourhood have little or no opportunity of learning good character because all they are exposed to is substance abuse, gambling and naked immorality. Unfortunately, some people who were doing legitimate businesses have been forced to join them because of economic hardship. We are really in a big mess.”
Checks at Ogolonto, a suburb of Ikorodu area of Lagos State, showed that naval officers and other security operatives have been stationed in the area to check the menace of armed robbers and vandals that operate in the axis.
In spite of this, some residents who spoke with our correspondent, feared that the hoodlums might still be lurking around “as they are always devising new strategies to beat the security agents” Tunde Badmus, a resident said, adding: “ The hoodlums have not yet gone from all indications. Their mode of operation is like that of women who sell fruits. When they sell oranges today, they will start selling corn tomorrow when oranges are no more in season.
“ Now that illegal oil bunkering appears to have become difficult for them in this area, these guys could take to armed robbery to keep body and soul together. We saw that recently when they attacked a new generation bank. Now that robbery is becoming a bit difficult for them, their next line of operation could be kidnapping. We are really disturbed because we have their informants all over the area and they cut across all the ethnic groups we have in the country. They intimidate and put fears in the minds of innocent citizens.”
Jackson, a fisherman in the community, said: “We moved to this environment for economic purposes because we are fishermen. But after some time, people with shady characters started finding their ways into our midst. What we found out later was that they moved in because of their ulterior motive. They are specialists in illegal oil bunkering and work with criminal elements from other places. These young people are too desperate and always ready to do all manners of bad things to get money.
“If you see the way they do things, you will not have to be told that they are criminals. They are always looking and moving about as if somebody is chasing them. When an old person like me would be out in the cold fishing to get something for the family, they would be in various odd joints drinking and smoking. Although their activities have been stemmed down but we still have our fears as they always take pleasure in shedding blood each time they strike.”
The story is not different at Takwa Bay, host community to the Atlas Cove Jetty. Findings show that the riverine community is a hub of pipeline vandalism and other shady activities. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resource, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, in a recent visit to the area, warned the residents that the community was at risk of possible acquisition by the Federal Government, if they continued to shield pipeline vandals and oil thieves. He also told the community that they were also culpable in the criminal activities going on in the location.
A resident, who simply identified himself as Bobby, said the activities of hoodlums in the area took a worrisome dimension shortly after the regular activities at Bar Beach were shut down.
“Before the minister even came here, we have been living in fears because of the activities of people of shady characters that they crept into our area. We had lived here for several years without any case of pipeline vandalism and other criminal activities. Our eyes and minds never went to such things because we were contented with the little we were getting. But the get rich quick syndrome in the society has made many criminals to enter into the community.
“They have opened brothels, drinking and smoking joints where the conscience of innocent ones is sold to the devil. We are not comfortable with all that but nobody can challenge them. If you challenge them, they can come at night to pick you up and throw into the lagoon to feed the fish. I guess that the closure of the hot joints at Bar Beach compounded the woes of this area and its environs as those criminal elements who were driven out of that place have found their ways to various communities, including ours.”
Benson, another worried member of the community, blamed the spate of criminal activities in the area on the neglect of riverine areas. He said: “Residents of riverine communities are often not treated as human beings. I am not making case for criminal activities but when the government refuses to provide basic amenities for people, the people will always find a way to survive. Most riverine communities are ghettos and there is nowhere in the world that you find ghettos that you will not find high incidences of criminal activities. Provide potable water, electricity, schools, decent houses and others like that for the people and you will see that criminal activities will drop in the area.”
At Mogboro, a community along Lagos Badagry area of Lagos State, the recent robbery attack on a commercial bank at Agbara is still very fresh in their memories. Findings revealed that their trauma has been heightened by the recent robbery attacks by people suspected to be members of One Million Boys deadly criminal gang.
Abiodun Tiamiyu, a resident of the area, said: “We have not been sleeping as a result of the activities of this group. Every member of the community has become a night guard as we all stay outside burning tyres all night to ward off the hoodlums. A number of people working outside the community don’t leave home early anymore for fear of falling into the hands of the victims. They have been terrorising us for long and we are not prepared to take that from them anymore.”
Visits to Ilase, an Ogun State community where the hoodlums, who attacked the bank at Agbara allegedly ran to, show that the residents are still dazed by the robbery incident. The Nation observed that they easily develop cold feet at the sight of strangers in the community. Some of the residents, who spoke with our correspondent, said the sight of the vehicle burnt by the hoodlums in the course of escaping, has continued to hound them.
Recalling how the hoodlums infiltrated their community, Babatunde, a resident, said: “We have been highly suspicious of strangers in the community after those robbers used our place as entry and exit point to rob the community bank at Agbara. For some time, they moved about in the community innocently without anybody suspecting that they had ulterior motives.
“We were shocked the day they struck. They wore army, customs and police uniforms. After robbing the bank, they set four vehicles ablaze. The last they burnt was the one that is lying there. After setting it ablaze, they ran into a waiting boat in the river and ran away. The sight of that vehicle traumatizes us. It reminds of us of that bloody day that those robbers exploited our innocence.
“We have learnt our lessons and have put necessary measures in place to check such criminal elements in the future. We don’t have criminal elements in our society because we have no room for such. The robbers that did that job came from other communities and that was why they took time to survey the environment.”
It has also been a tension soaked period for residents of Arepo, another suburb of Ogun State as the recent activities of hoodlums in the area have turned the heat of security operatives on the community. No fewer than three members of the community suspected to be vandals were allegedly killed during the week.
Some of the residents, who spoke with our correspondent, said they have been living in fears from both ends.
“For a very long time, the vandals have been tormenting the whole community. They killed individuals and security operatives with impunity. Now, fears are rife in the community that security operatives are now killing people randomly in the guise of fishing out vandals. Most of us are scared and thinking of running away from the area because the hoodlums and security operatives may clash and if that happens, innocent residents are likely to bear the brunt. Rasheed, a resident, said.
Reacting to the development, the Police Public Relations Officer of Lagos State Police Command, Dolapo Badmus, said: “Lagos is peaceful. During the Yuletide season, you will agree with me that we had a peaceful celebration and thereafter, Lagos has been very peaceful. Most robberies or nefarious activities that happened through the waterways in the state in the past have become past tense. You will agree with me that when some suspects were arrested, especially the Ikorodu kidnap case, one of them said Lagos is too tight for them now because they can’t operate on road and the riverine areas.
“ What that suggests to you is that the Lagos State Police Command has stepped up the game and right now, the operational strategies put in place are making it too tight for criminals to access the state whether through roads or the waterways. We are also policing the waterways. The kind of policing we have on the road is also what we are doing on the waterways and by extension the airways, because sometimes you would see our helicopter patrolling. That is what we call area view. Basically, that is what we have been doing.”
She added: “The message to criminals aiming to use the water ways is simple. The message is that Lagos State, whether by road, by water or by air is no more an access route for any criminal. If you have been following the trend of events in about a week and a half, you will see the pulling down of the stronghold of Ukiwe Joseph who had been a hardened criminal. His signature was part of the robbery gang that robbed in Lekki about two years ago, the one that happened in Agbara, Ogun State. All the boys arrested always said he was the organiser. He wanted to test his strength recently when he moved through the water ways. Our operatives in conjunction with the Nigerian Customs Services and the Nigerian Army were able to repel him and his group.
“He lost his life in the gun battle. If the Lagos State command can bring down a hardened criminal who we can call a kingpin, what that tells you is that we are more than ever ready to give protection to the lives and property of the people; we are warning the criminals to stay away from the Lagos State command and its environs because it is no more business as usual. We are not going to take it lightly with anybody that is out to carry out illegality in the state.
“We have been massively arresting criminals both on the road and waterways. We have been arresting criminals in their numbers on a weekly basis whether those operating in the guise of cultism, those that were about to rob and an example of this was the one we nipped in the bud at Seme Border where 3,000 live ammunition were recovered. Two GCMG riffles and five other riffles, including dynamites, were recovered in that operation. If those people had escaped, they would have wreaked serious havoc in the society. For us to have done all this is a big plus and we would continue to do more of that.”
