advertisement

Beware of the brand of car you drive in Lagos

By KUNLE ADEYEMI

The brand of car you drive in Lagos determines the level of risk you face from armed robbers. KUNLE ADEYEMI reports.

advertisement

In Nigerian traditional parlance, spiritual security is attached to prayers. This explains why prayers are usually said when a man accomplishes any feat. When properties are acquired or children are born, prayers are said. When people buy new vehicles, especially the state-of-the-art ones, prayers are said. On such occasions, it is usual to hear supplications like; ”may this car never turn out to be your coffin or may it never be robbers‘ property.” Ironically, however, the situation in the country, especially Lagos in the last two months has thrown up a big contradiction to the aforementioned.

On a daily basis on the nation‘s highways, vehicles are snatched as if it was the latest fad. The owners of such stolen vehicles are usually thankful to God for their lives spared by the robbers. A few unfortunate ones have been shot in the process of having their vehicles snatched. The burden and agony of such shootings are usually placed on the members of the victims‘ immediate family and their close acquaintances.

An investigation by this writer has shown that Lagosians who have and drive state-of-the-art vehicles are now careful of where they go and what time they go out in such cars. When the opinion of a respondent who drives a 2008 model of Toyota Corolla was sought on the issue, he told our correspondent that, ”It seems the era of Ahmani Tidjani has come back to Nigeria. I think people should be very careful. As for me, I think I will be more comfortable using my official car more often now.”

Tidjani was a once-dreaded trans-border robbery kingpin.

Statistics showed that between August 1 and 25, 2008, 75 vehicles were either snatched at gunpoint or cleverly removed from where they were parked in Lagos. Besides, 80 assorted vehicles were also recovered by security agents within the same period. An analysis of the statistics reveals that vehicle snatchers now prefer sports utility vehicles, otherwise albeit, wrongfully called jeeps.

Records show that a Pajero jeep, a Nissan Murano SUV, a Nissan Infinity SUV, a Mercedes Benz jeep and a Toyota Land Cruiser jeep are among many others snatched within the month.

The case of an Islamic cleric, Sheik Agbonmagbe, is still fresh. He was attacked in his Toyota Land Cruiser driven by his son at Apapa on Saturday, August 23. He was returning from his daughter‘s wedding. The robbers allegedly blocked the jeep with their Toyota Starlet car and snatched it at gunpoint. Unfortunately for the robbers, however, they later had a shooting encounter with the police. One of them was killed while the jeep somersaulted and got damaged.

Two other brands of vehicles commonly snatched are Toyota and Honda. In fact, Toyota Camry and Toyota Corolla are prominent in the list of vehicles stolen within the month. Six Camry saloon cars were reported stolen and six others recovered within 25 days. Other vehicles on the preferred list of robbers are Kia products, especially Kia Rio, Cerato and Optima. Mercedes, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Hyundai and Volkswagen products are in the minority in the preferred list of vehicles wanted by robbers.

The investigation also showed that perhaps the robbers operate based on their knowledge of the security arrangement within the Lagos metropolis. For instance, most of the vehicles were snatched on Sundays. This could be attributed to two major probable reasons.

One: Traffic is usually light on Sundays and the robbers are aware that this situation facilitates their escape, and they are aware that Lagosians bring out their choice cars on Sundays. Two: police presence on the roads on Sundays is usually minimal. Perhaps, the snatchers are aware of this! For instance, it has been observed that at least two or three police patrol vans are regularly stationed at the Allen Avenue junction in Ikeja, especially at night between 7pm and probably till dawn. But on Sunday evenings, none of these vans is usually found in the area, especially when it is past 10pm.

It is sometimes said that the presence of security men on the roads may not prevent robbers from doing their business, but it is a truism that if police patrol vans are scattered on the roads, even if a vehicle is snatched, there is a greater probability that the thieves may not go far before they are apprehended or at least, before they have an encounter with the law enforcement agents.

A lawyer, who identified himself simply as Boye, and drives a Kia Cerato, said, ”Well, to say the situation is worrisome is an understatement. One may not really feel the pain if one has not been unfortunate enough to lose a vehicle to armed robbers. Although it has not happened to me before, I have friends, whose car had been stolen and I know what it means. I think it goes beyond the issue of insecurity, it also has to do with our value system. We tend to worship material things so much in this part of the world. I am not making a case for robbers, but so many things are askew in this country and a lot of work needs to be done by our leaders.”

When confronted with this security problem, the spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Frank Mba, said, ”First, let me state that the issue of security should not be seen as an exclusively police affair. We have said it several times that everybody has a duty to be security conscious. People should take exceptional precaution when they drive, especially at night. Anytime you are driving and you notice that a particular vehicle has been on your trail for some time, quickly drive into a nearest police station. Of course, the robbers could sometimes be very smart, motorists also need to be very careful. You can see that we are not relenting. We have recovered over 80 stolen vehicles in less than a month. That‘s quite an achievement.”

As the situation is being monitored, it is hoped that all the stakeholders in the security sector, families and individuals will be more alive to the security situation in their environment.