The Residents, roadside business owner, road/street hawker, Roadside trader, passer-by and the Hausa Beggars and people living with disabilities at Ajegunle River axis of Sabo Sagamu area, cried out over the increasing road side robbery and insecurity of lives and properties and urged the Akarigbo In Council, Policemen, DSS, Vigilante, Youth bodies, Sagamu Local Government and Ogun State government at large to come to their aid with immediate effect.
A cross section of residents, road side hawkers, passing-by people and the beggars, stated that some miscreants and hoodlums usually have a field day robbery activities at the Ajegunle Bridge where the Beggars and other Disable people usually seated. It was also said that the miscreants also carries out their menace operations at the road side of Andron Homes & Properties office, the banks duo of; Wema Bank, GT Bank, the two branches of Access Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Polaris Bank, Choice Phones office, Mr. Biggs, the Over head and Under Bridge, along the Akarigbo Road area, Sabo Sagamu.
Mr. Stephen Chukwu, a Yoghurt seller who hawks through the area, said; he was a victim of these miscreants, as he was attacked at the evening hour of the day. “I sold Yoghurts of over ₦10,000 to 8 boys as they asked me to sell to them and after selling finished, they said I should go away and i try to drag the issue with them, the next thing they show me was a pistol gun, and they used that avenue to carter away all my left over money”, Mr. Sunday stated while explaining his experiences with those hoodlums.
“I am tired of getting robbed every couple of weeks; we are not safe on the roads, we are not safe in our homes, we are not safe everywhere. Insecurity is so rife and the community leaders and government doesn’t seem to be bothered much about this situation,” Oyinkansola Adewonusi, another victim of the road robberies said the situation is very brutal.
She recalled: “Interview 10 people and you would discover that at least nine have been robbed in the last couple of months, either by pick pocketing, walking on the road, at the Bank ATM Places, their places of business or at home”, Oyinkansola lamented bitterly.
“I was robbed for the first time at around 6pm by the roadside of where the beggars usually seated while coming from bank. Suddenly, I saw these four young boys asking for alms from me and as a kindhearted woman, i stopped to give them a little that i have to share among themselves, while in the act of doing so, one matured guy walked to us and said don’t shout cause if you shout we are going to kill you and run away, and the next thing he said was “bring the money you went to collect at bank or your life”, then those 4 young beggars said to me boldly, “Madam, you better cooperate with the rules or else you’ll loose your life now”, and I have to gave them the purse in my bag and they jumped on a bike and went there way. Though, some people are passing by but they don’t notice anything, as they thought I’m there to share alms to those beggars as people normally do. It is after they went their way that i started to cries for help and some people passing-by also shared their experiences; said that’s how they usually do nowadays at that area, that some of the miscreants have mixed with the beggars not knowing that they’re thieves and these are causing confusion to the road side business owner, the hawkers and people passing through the road cause they don’t known how to identify these hoodlums from the beggars”, Mrs. Anjola Jacob sharad her roadside robbery experience, as she laments that the operations have forced her to close down her POS business, because she hadn’t even recovered from the first robbery as the money carter away were her only capital for running the POS business.
“I cannot count how many times I have been robbed in this area, on top of the bridge, under the bridge, at the left side and right side of the road. I have become their ‘regular customer,’ so I have decided to stay away from that axis completely.
“If your car breaks down around there or you’re waiting for someone at that axis, it is over for you, because you would be robbed; you cannot escape it. These miscreants usually robbed people most especially the passersby, of their money, goods, bike, jewelries, shoes, phones and many other valuable things, Ademola Oluleye also share his encounter with the miscreants.
Speaking with Genesis Media House, a resident of the area, Adegboyega Adegbuyi, lamented that the roadside robbery have become a bone in their throat, defying all solutions, saying: “Those boys have taken over almost the whole area of Sabo Sagamu, operating without fear of repercussion or been arrested by the security officers.
“I think at this point, the Security officials are overwhelmed by the situation, because it is almost a weekly affair now. The whole of Sabo Sagamu is so unsafe; you cannot come out early in the morning, you cannot stay gallant in the afternoon, you cannot walk in the evening or late at night for fear of being robbed, kidnapped, ritualised or raped, which has become so rampant”, Adegboyega said.
While reporting, the beggars also lamented the evil act these miscreants have caused to their sittings as they stated that majority of these unscrupulous human are very young boys and have some adults as gang leader, and they usually disguise as abnormal people to seat in their midst.
Some of the beggars also stated that, they seat in their midst as beggars, while some of these evil people also robbed them of their monies and goods that people gave to them, while some says the hoodlums have guns, matchets, cutlasses and axes that they used to carried out their menace. Some also made it known that, the miscreants carries out their evil assignments in the day light time and they also do the same at the night hour up to the midnight and also at the day break hour.
Some Beggars made it known that: “These groups of people have turned alms begging into a huge business by collecting returns from beggars”.
Some hawkers, roadside business owner, passer-by and residents, also made it known that those miscreants sleep and hid under the bridge, hey also hide under the river bridge to escape after they’ve performed their robbery activities, while it was reported that they also kept all their instruments under the river bridge as well.
Another set of Passers-by made it known that those evil gang have mixed up with the Beggars, so it so hard for people to identify them. We haven’t known the tribe they’re from, as these bad people speaks atimes in Yoruba & Hausa language and sometimes often speaks cracked pidgin English.
About three legal security officers (1 Nigeria Army, 1 DSS officers & 1 Vigilante) living in that axis, who didn’t want their name in print, said they are aware of the rising roadside robbery and insecurity, but there was little they could do.
“We are afraid for our own lives too. As you are not safe, we too don’t feel safe. We don’t have enough tools to fight these robbers and nobody wants to die untimely death.
All our morale and most of our powers have been taken away and if the Akarigbo in Council, the community leaders, local and state government is serious about securing this city, they known what to do,” the Security operatives stated.
In conclusion, the residents, passers-by, hawkers, traders, beggars, people living with disabilities and roadside business owners has jointly cries out to the State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun, Ogun State Commissioner Of Police, His Royal Majesty Oba Dr. Victor Adewale Ajayi – The Akarigbo & Paramount Ruler Of Remo Land, The Akarigbo In Council and other Sagamu Obas, Hon. Adewunmi Oriyomi Onanuga Ijaya – MHR representing Remo Federal Constituency, Hon. Segun Shitta – OGHA Majority Leader representing Offin Sagamu Constituency 1, the Sagamu Local Government administration chaired by the Executive Chairman Ogbeni Afolabi Odulate, Hon. Taiwo Makinde – Councillor representing Ward 5, Hon. Taiwo Gbenga Sunday (7 Colour) – Councillor representing Ward 4, the duos of Nigeria Police Force; Sagamu Area Command, Igbobi Police Station, Sakora Police Station, the DSS Sagamu Division, the Military based at Coca-cola Junction, the Vigilante Group Of Nigeria – Sagamu Branch, the Amotekun – Sagamu Branch, Adrons Home & Properties Office, All Rounder office, the Choice Phones office, Mr. Biggs, all the Commercial Banks in that area, the likes of; Stanbic IBTC, Access, GT, Wema & Polaris Bank, The Remo Youth Association (RYA) chaired by Comr. Yaya Onagbesan, The National Youth Council Of Nigeria (NYCN) Sagamu Branch led by Comr. Aduroja Oluwole, The Sagamu Youth Association (SYA) headed by Comr. Segun Sikiru Success, The Association Of Sabo Sagamu Youth Leaders (ASYL) led by Comr. Bashir Aina, Top Sagamu noble personality and other Sagamu recognize body and other security organizations, to intensify security patrols in that area in order to demolished the menace as the year was running out.
While they also made it known that if the insufferable hell of this roadside robbery, crimes and insecurities we are now is not quenched on time, there will be dire consequences, as it may gradually leads to high rate of Kidnapping, Killings, Bank, Homes, Offices, Businesses and Companies robbery at a time to come. Are all stakeholders reading the handwriting on the wall? More metaphorically, the seeds of insecurity being wildly sown in the land now will be bearing more bitter fruits in the Ember moths of this year, in 2023 and even in the years to come.
They also beseech the State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun and the local government Chairman, Ogbeni Afolabi Odulate to acts more than talking, and rallying all Securities Officers and other Community Stakeholders towards inclusive, sustainable solutions. If they don’t want things to fall apart totally on their watch and if they still desires the verdict of history to be kind to both of them after leaving office, the time to act had better be now. The security of lives and property is the most singular inviolable debt they owes the citizens and residents of Sagamu and Ogun State at a whole.