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THE Lagos State police command has said that it is working hard to ensure that the people of the state enjoy the Yuletide in an atmosphere of peace and security.
It promised to rein in criminal elements through the deployment of policemen and plain-clothe intelligence officers across the state.
The spokesman of the command, Benjamin Hundeyin, who stated this in an interview with Saturday Tribune, said: “We don’t want to make too much noise about it but we are not unmindful of the fact that people will want to take advantage of the season to wreak havoc on innocent people. We have deployed our men and also charged our intelligence and plain clothe officers on intelligence gathering.
“We are urging members of the public to take advantage of the lines out there, the short codes 767 and 112 to report any suspicion they have so that we can act on it. We are not resting on our oars. We are working to ensure that Lagosians have a peaceful Yuletide.”
The police assurance came amidst reports that residents of the state are encountering increased efforts by criminals to dispossess them of their belongings as Christmas and New Year celebrations approach.
A cross section of residents who spoke to Saturday Tribune said they noticed certain patterns in how they or their relatives fell victim to different fraud schemes.
A victim, Sherif Olaniyi, was saved before he could lose everything. He had lost N10,000 out of his children’s school fees to a fraudster who approached him disguising as a beggar.
Olaniyi told Saturday Tribune that the trickster, under the guise of begging for alms, had given him a ‘prophecy’ which tallied with the challenges he was currently passing through.
He said: “It happened in Surulere at a car wash where I had gone to wash my car. The man was dressed like a typical herdsman but he was a beggar. His accent had a tint of Hausa language but he spoke in pidgin English.
“He approached me for alms and I gladly gave him N100 which he rejected. The rejection got to me that I took another look at him and our gazes locked, and he said to me the alms I gave to him was belittling; that God told had him that the money he would collect from me wais far above what I was offering him and that he was sent to me to redeem me from spiritual afflictions that had hindered my progress and plunged me into financial mess.
“Seeing that he had gone spiritual beyond an ordinary beggar on the street of Lagos, I increased the alms to N1,000 but again, he rejected it. At this point, I lost my calm and walked away but at the same time, I was enveloped in fear, especially as he hit on the challenges I was faced with. He hurried towards me and said he was sent to me by God to deliver me from my afflictions. He prayed and prophesised that generational ill-luck had been hindering my progress and causing me financial difficulties.
“Truly, I have been facing some domestic and financial challenges. So, immediately I heard that, I felt my hour of deliverance had finally come. I became calm and I listened to him.”
Before the distraction occasioned by the beggar-turned-prophet, Olaniyi said nothing indicated that he was a trickster. But by the time the conman finished with him, a slice of his children’s school fees had gone
He said: “After the prayer and prophecy, he requested that my palms be stretched out. He then spat on his right thumb and rubbed it on my right palm. He whispered some prayers and asked me to look at the back of my palm. Surprisingly, the saliva he imprinted on my right palm showed at the back of my palm.
“This he interpreted to be that my right palm is leaking. According to him, my right palm is like a leaking basket which is the cause of my financial difficulties and ill-luck. He told me that no amount of money I earned or was given would be useful to me except if I got delivered of the afflictions. I took in the prophecy and his spiritual explanation hook, line and sinker. Since I was undergoing some financial challenges, I fell for his ‘prophecy’.
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“I asked him what it would cost me to deliver me of the afflictions and he asked me how much I had on me. I told him, N50,000. He said I should drop it as initial payment. I objected that the money was meant for my children’s school fees and I could not part with it. But after a lot of persuasion, I managed to give him N10,000 and he promised to call me later that night.
“At home, I was alone thinking about the possibility of my right palm leaking. When my mind couldn’t take it any longer, I opened up to a friend who understands Hausa language and it was at this point I got wind of the scam. He shed light on the scam.
“When the conman called at night, I handed my phone to my friend and that was how the scam was foiled.
“I had always told people that those that fall victim to scams are gullible and greedy people. I said they were easily deceived because of miracles, deliverance or wealth they are searching for. The rush to be successful in life is the cause of multitudes falling prey to tricksters. Lagosians, especially during this Yuletide, must be careful of those that promise to deliver them from their afflictions instantly because it takes time to be afflicted and it would take more time to overcome such challenges.”
Pregnant woman or fraudster?
Another victim of scam, a cab operator at Bode Thomas, Surulere, Kehinde Sekoni, was deceived and conned of N28,500 by a pregnant woman and her accomplice at the General Hospital in Lagos Island.
Narrating his ordeal to Saturday Tribune, Sekoni said the promise of a car by the woman made her lose his guard. He blamed his greed and gullibility for his loss.
He said: “I was driving on Marina and Broad Street scouting for clients. As I was approaching the Lagos State General Hospital, I saw a pregnant woman at the gate of the hospital with a young man. They waved to stop me and I was told to take them down to Iga-Idungaran. There was a young man beside the pregnant woman whom I later got to know as her accomplice. I was contracted to take her to Abraham Adesanya Estate in Ajah.
“While in my car, the pregnant woman started a discussion with the young man and he promised to give him a car out of the many cars in her garage. She promised to gift a car to me. I was shocked to hear her generosity but I thanked her.
“As we were going, we stopped by at a pharmacy and she requested if I had up to N20,000 which I gladly gave her. She promised to refund it when we get to her destination. She went into the pharmacy only to return that she would need additional N20,000. At this point, all I had left on me was not more than N10,000. She collected N8,500 and went back into the store. A few minutes later, she returned and we continued the journey.
“She brought out a syringe and an injection powder which she mixed and injected on her calves and handed it over to the young man who injected himself too. It was at this point I began to suspect her. We headed towards Ilubirin and she ordered that I stopped that the jab she took was having adverse effect on her.
“We returned to the then Skye Bank on Broad Street where she claimed she wanted to make some transaction. She went into the banking hall with the young man while I stayed outside. It took over 30 minutes for them to come out. It was at this point that I knew they were fraudsters and were looking for a way to dislodge me.
“They came out of the bank and requested that we returned to the hospital. At the hospital, she started feigning madness. It was at this point that it dawned on me that I had lost N28,500 and three hours of driving around Lagos Island without pay.
“I left them at the hospital to scout for another passenger, a woman who said she was going to Ajah. As I was driving out of Broad Street, behold the pregnant woman and the young man adjacent the old NiTel building eating and drinking. I alighted to confront them and it was at this point that I knew that they were fraudsters.
“From my experience, these scammers don’t easily scam their victims. It is only the gullible and greedy people that are easily deceived by the fraudsters. Victims fall for their fraudulent and devilish ploys easily. As for me, I lowered my guard because of the promise of a car but I called myself back when she injected herself with the substance I believed to be hard drugs.”
One-chance inside Keke Marwa?
Another resident, Mr Ajadi Semiu, also explained how his nephew became a victim of a one-chance robbery attack in a tricycle.
He said: “My nephew was robbed. He boarded a tricycle at Odaliki by Jones Street to Apapa Road. Immediately they dropped him at Costain Bus Stop, the rider with two other passengers made a U-turn and ordered him to enter the Marwa, pointing a gun at him. They took him from Costain through Brickfield Street and moved inward Olokodana Street down to Iya-Agan into one of the shanties in Otto. They never knew he resided in the community.
“They collected his phone, checked his account balance and ordered him to transfer some amount to an account provided by them. But for the poor network, they would have cleared all the money in his account. Seeing that the transaction failed, they drove him down to a POS point and ordered him to transfer some money to the operator’s account. This also failed as well. They did all this at gun point. He was threatened that he would be killed if he shouted or made any unnecessary steps.
“While he was with them in the Keke Marwa, they beat him and took him to Adekunle Bridge where he was dropped. He later found his way to Oyingbo where he quickly blocked his line because they have collected his bank details and password.
“Some months later, he was able to identify a member of the robbery gang in the community. He was arrested and made to buy another phone for my nephew.
“The slum in Otto, especially inner Jones Street, is very notorious for crimes. It is a haven for criminals. We have contacted the police but nothing has been seen to be done.”
‘Why criminals are comfortable in Otto, environs’
Head of security in Otto community, Mr Musbau Agbodemu, blamed the police for the continued stay of the criminal elements in the community.
Agbodemu alleged police collusion with the criminals, saying that on many occasions, criminal suspects have been arrested only for them to be released into the community by the officers at two police stations (names withheld).
He said the reason for the continued criminal activities in Otto community and its environs was not farfetched as it had to do with the non-cooperative nature of police officers at the two police stations.
Agbodemu said about a month ago, the DPO of one of the stations led a team of officers to raid hideouts of criminals in the community after complaints were lodged by the residents.
He claimed that many of the criminals were arrested but rather than prosecute the hoodlums, they were released.
He said: “These are known criminals who unleash terror on residents. Cases of robbery attacks and of tricksters are on the increase in the community and its environs but the police seem not interested in cooperating with us to curb the menace. We have made several arrests at different times and reported at different police stations but the suspects were later released by the police.
“They returned to the community to continue their nefarious activities and tormenting of residents. Imagine crime suspects coming to me that the police directed them to come and plead with me for their arrested members to be released from police custody? Why would the police do that? After much persuasion and realisation that I was exposed to danger, I asked the officers to release the suspects but when they got there, they were turned down.
“They came back to me that the officers requested for my presence at the station before they could be released. They wanted me to sign the bail bond before they could be released. Why would I do such? I told them I couldn’t. They were detained and released the following day. They have been operating in full swing since June. They rob residents of their valuables and retreat to their enclave.”
In the course of investigating the alleged collusion between crime suspects and police officers, a certain Inspector at a particular police station was repeatedly mentioned as the most notorious.
A resident alleged that he constantly perverted the course of justice.
According to the resident, the policeman, who handles many of the criminal cases at the station, allegedly assists the suspects to evade justice.
He said: “He has been living in the area for almost three decades. He knows all the criminals and has outlived many Divisional Police Officers, having spent over 15 years at the police station. He handles almost all criminal cases reported at the station but not one suspect has been convicted or prosecuted by him.”
The state police command reacted to the alleged collusion.
The command’s spokesman, Hundeyin, in an interview with Saturday Tribune, said the allegation of misconduct against the Inspector was new to him.
Hundeyin said: “I am hearing it for the first time. The people like complaining to journalists rather than complaining to the higher authority.
“If they report cases of misconduct against officers to the DPO and he did not take it up then they should report to the officer that is higher than the DPO, who is the Area Commander.
“I have published the numbers to call for the public to lodge their complaints. The numbers are out there. It is on my personal social media handle and our official handles. If the DPO didn’t do anything about it, they should report to the Commissioner of Police through the PRO. I am hearing the complaint about the Inspector for the first and I am going to log that complaint and work on it.”
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