Robbers continue to operate unhindered in the Akwa Ibom State metropolis of Uyo despite the strict application of jungle justice there. Residents in the State are extremely afraid as a result of recent armed robberies and burglaries in certain areas.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Odiko Macdon, consistently opposed this practise and urged people to report suspects to the police while also admonishing criminals to turn a new leaf. In recent years, any criminal caught in the act ran the possibility of being burned alive.
Despite these cautions, criminal activity seems unabated, and enraged crowds have persisted in lynching offenders.
Armed robbers broke into the University of Uyo health institution on Tuesday night at Uyo’s Nwaniba Road.
According to reports, the robbers targeted new moms, nurses, and visitors to the postnatal department and stole their phones, cash, and other belongings.
A victim who had just given birth described the incident to journalists, saying that “two of them came into the postnatal ward with guns, threatening to shoot if we did not surrender our valuables.” They removed some cash from the hospital drawers as well as our phones and cash. Outside the medical facility, there were three more people.
“The nurses fled into the delivery rooms after hearing their initial threats and locked themselves inside, but we, the new mothers, were left at the bandits’ mercy.
“I praise God that they did not have the intention of stealing brand-new babies. They seized our handbags, emptying them before throwing them into some bushes nearby.
The UniUyo security team reportedly received a call as soon as the criminals entered the health center’s grounds, but assistance didn’t arrive until after the robbery had already been completed.
However, Odiko Macdon, the Police PRO, who denounced the robbery crime, believed there was a connection between the thugs who broke into the health centre and a suspect who was lynched on Friday afternoon at the university gate.
The PPRO questioned why someone would think it would be a good idea to take valuables away from persons who already have medical concerns. They also noted that the Commissioner, CP Olatoye Durosinmi, was quite upset about the occurrence and had pledged to find the cause of it.
More concerning in Uyo is the recent wave of crime committed inside commercial minibuses and tricycles, where robbers who pose as passengers would either rob their unwitting fellow passengers using POS machine at gunpoint or force them to immediately access mobile loan using their (victims’) phones.
I got on a bus from Plaza headed to Nwaniba. The unlucky victim, who is already sounding suicidal, described her story. In the bus, there were four passengers: two in the back, one behind the driver, and the fourth in the front seat.
“Someone else joined and sat next to a woman as we moved towards the De Choice Mall.
The bus driver asked if anyone would get out before Utang Street so he could take Barracks Road. Everyone predicted that after, they would decline. There was a woman on the bus, so I didn’t feel afraid.
After Oliver Twist Eatery, I felt something touch my neck, and as I turned around, a man standing behind me demanded my phone while brandishing a revolver.
She claimed that after giving the phone, they requested for her password, which she provided.
They picked up my phone and went directly to the Play Store to download the Fairmoney lending App, she claimed. Unfortunately, I have previously utilised the app and paid back the loan. There was no need for them to download again.
She claims they accessed the app and saw she qualified for a loan of N650,000.
“The thieves requested for a loan, and it was approved in less than five minutes. My account received the loan. They started my app and requested my password. My account had roughly N120,000 in it at the time, and they moved the loan and that money to another account. In total, they removed N770,000 from my account.
She continued, saying that by the time they arrived at the Brooks Street Fire Service, they had shoved her outside with her luggage and phone.
I was forced to repay a loan of more than N950,000. I discovered they could not be monitored when I arrived at the bank to ask if they could track them because it was an Opay account opened without BVN. Mallam Sahid is listed as the account holder, she lamented.
She claimed that having to pay roughly N165 000 per month left her feeling utterly sad.
The police commissioner, CP Durosinmi, warned the public to be security alert and to pay attention to the commercial vehicle they board in one of his press conferences.
In order to prevent criminal elements from using it, he also recommended the people not to use phones that they use to get bank alerts in public.
