Lagos community laments incessant kidnappings, robberies
By IJEOMA THOMAS-ODIA
Residents of Abesan Estate in Mosan-Okunola Local Government Council of Lagos State have lamented frequent cases of robbery, theft and kidnapping in the area.
They attributed the situation to the porous nature of the estate, which has many unmanned access points.
Narrating their ordeals, President of the Estate Residents Association, Mr. Michael Kehinde, said three vehicles were stolen within one week as the thieves became more daring in the area, while a kid from Lijadun family was kidnapped near Sophem School area but rescued in Ota.
He said: “An old woman, on her way home from the market, was on her phone and it got snatched. While pursuing the criminal, she fell and broke an arm. She is still wearing Plaster of Paris (POP) on the arm.
“Another woman left to use the ATM, forgot to lock her doors, and on returning home, she saw someone already in her bedroom with TV and other electrical gadgets dismantled. The burglar, who had moved into her wardrobe, punched her in the face and escaped.”
Kehinde, however, added that the motor park, set up by the Mosun Okunola Chairman, Hon. Olabisi Adebajo (Abisco), contributes to the insecurity.
“Okadas have become big menace in this estate. Controlling them is now an issue. 90 per cent of them don’t stay in the estate.
“We, therefore, ask Mosun Okunola, to allow the resident association to take charge of our security. This is too much and already out of hand. We need our sanity back in the Abesan Estate,” he said.
Also, a resident, Adeniyi Temitope, said he was heading to work in Yaba when he was kidnapped.
“I boarded a bus at the gate, and there were five men already in the bus, all corporately dressed. By the time we got to Alimosho Roundabout, they started strangling me and immediately demanded that I put in my pin, having gotten a hold of my phone. They cleared my account and started making calls to contacts on my phone, two people responded, one sent in N50,000, another sent N200,000 before I was thrown out of the vehicle covered in pepper spray,” he said.
A civil servant working in a private firm, Omolola Adigun, said she left for work only to return to find her two bedroom apartment in disarray.
“I returned home last Thursday to find my house turned upside down. Three laptops were taken away and the sum of N93,000, even the food I prepared was not spared. The thieves even had the time to feast,” she added. (Adapted from The Guardian)
