Comfort Oseghale has been monitoring the trend of crime in the second quarter of 2011. She reports that while gun possession is high, pedestrians also need to exercise caution on Lagos roads
With the increase in armed robbery activities going on around the Lagos metropolis lately, it’s not hard to guess what the favourite sport of criminals would be: the arms trade. A compilation of the situation reports by the Lagos State Police Command over a three-month period shows that most of the arrests made during the period were for the possession of arms and ammunition and/or their use for criminal activities.
Fatal accidents take second place, followed by car thefts.
In April 2011, a total of three locally-made pistols, one double barrel shotgun, one single barrel shotgun and 13 live cartridges, were recovered from armed robbery suspects in six different locations in Lagos State.
May 2011 recorded the highest recovery of arms and ammunition – three locally-made pistols, one double barrel shotgun, one Brownie pistol, one submachine gun and 51 live cartridges, were recovered from armed robbery suspects at five different locations in the state.
In June 2011, a total of about three locally-made pistols, one shotgun, two live cartridges and 30 rounds of 9mm calibre ammunition were recovered from armed robbery suspects.
Several areas of the Lagos metropolis also seemed to be good hiding places for criminals involved in the arms trade. In the months under review, Ikeja recorded the most arrests. Whereas three arrests were made in Ikeja, Ikorodu recorded two, Badagry two, while Epe, Mushin, Alakuko, Onipanu, Festac, Ikotun and Abule Egba all recorded one each. Despite the various ‘Stop and Search’ patrols all over the state, it seems the arms trade is thriving in the there.
Coming on the heels of the arms trade, are fatal accidents involving vehicles and motorcycle operators known as okada riders and pedestrians. The trend shows that a majority of all the fatal accidents recorded involved pedestrians being hit by vehicles and okada riders.
In April 2011, a total of seven fatal accidents were recorded in the Lagos metropolis. In all the cases but one, pedestrians were the victims. Two cases involved accidents between okada riders and pedestrians, two more accidents involved pedestrians being hit by privately-owned vehicles, two accidents between pedestrians and commercial buses and one between a truck and an okada rider.
May 2011 recorded the worst accidents in the period under review: 12 fatal accidents were recorded. As it was in the previous month, pedestrians were the worst hit by the tragic occurences. Five of the accidents recorded involved pedestrians being hit by commercial bus drivers, okada riders or privately-owned vehicles.
In June 2011, four fatal accidents were recorded. As it was in the previous month, pedestrians were the victims in all the cases but one. The last accident involved a commercial vehicle and an okada rider.
The chairman of Transworld Security Systems, Dr. Ona Ekhomu, blamed the arms trade on the porosity of Nigerian borders.
He said, “The arms we see on the television being impounded by the Customs and other security agencies are just a tip of the iceberg. A lot more arms are in circulation, which are not being noticed by the authorities.
“Our land borders are very porous and there is a lot of internal conflict within the West African sub-region. The illegal arms in circulation are also a result of the irresponsibility of our politicians. They are intentionally introduced to destabilise the country, either by foreign organisations or misguided Nigerian politicians who are disappointed at not getting their way in the elections. In the end, most of these arms either from areas of conflict in the West African sub-region or a fallout from violent elections, find their way into the hands of organised crime gangs.”
Unlike the arms trade, no one in particular section of the metropolis is immune from fatal accidents as the incidents recorded were virtually spread evenly all across the metropolis.
Car theft, which seems to be a thriving business in Lagos, witnessed 15 reported cases in April: Of the 15, eight of the stolen vehicles were Toyota brands. In May, 11 vehicles were reported stolen; eight of them were Toyota cars. While in June, 13 vehicles were reported stolen, 10 of which were Toyota brands. Another vehicle seemingly favoured by car snatchers is the Honda brand as it recorded the second highest number of cases of theft.
However, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Samuel Jinadu, did not respond to crime digest enquiries on the statistics.
On the rate of accidents in the state, the Lagos Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Jonas Agwu, told CRIME DIGEST that there were several ways to explain the high incidence of pedestrians involved in road accidents. “How much awareness do Lagos pedestrians have concerning road safety? They disregard pedestrian bridges that have been built for their safety and prefer to cross busy express roads with all the attendant risks. Some do this out of ignorance to prove that they are tough and street smart and as such, don’t need a pedestrian bridge to help them across. How many pedestrians watch out for the traffic lights before they cross?
“Then, the drivers themselves too take some of the blame. Most Lagos drivers are conversant with traffic laws but don’t obey them. A car driver who is approaching a junction knows he ought to slow down, but instead, goes with speed. There is also the structural issue. We all know the governor is doing his best in terms of roads by having road markings, zebra crossings and such on our roads. But all this cannot be done in a day. So, if you take a closer look, you might find that areas where these accidents occur are lacking in such facilities,” Agwu said.
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