Unsafe — Anytime, Anywhere

THERE are no reliable statistics on the number of armed attacks and thefts that take place in Lagos daily, but it is obvious that there is a rise in the crime wave, just as there is no evident effective measures to combat the attacks which occur at home, in the office, at banks and increasingly in traffic.

Most of the major highways in Lagos appear to have been conceded to criminals who are making the best of their good luck.

The Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, the stretch that leads to West Africa’s busiest ports in Apapa and leads traffic out of Lagos through the Ibadan Expressway, possibly holds the record for these attacks.

Hardly a day passes without regular users of the road knowing someone who thieves broke into his vehicle in traffic, or of a snatched vehicle. The incidence of commuters falling victims of criminals who operate their own commercial buses, has never abated.

Complaints to the police, who complain of inadequate manpower and patrol vehicles, produce no relief. The attacks go on at any time - day or night.

The attackers pick their target certain of unhindered operations. In a day, they operate successfully on as many points as they want. Ironically, the police could be less than 100 metres from the scenes of these attacks. Their presence provides no comfort.

Badagry Expressway, Ikorodu Road, Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, under reconstruction, are other roads that share common notoriety for high crime records.

Several factors create fertile grounds for these attacks –– the bad roads and flooding cause traffic jams, attracting a mass of hawkers of all sorts of wares, and mobile mechanics, who attend to broken down vehicles.

Professional robbers mingle with them, breaking into vehicles after threatening their occupants with guns and knives. Of course, most parts of these roads do not have street lights, where they do, the lights do not work.

A lot can be done to redeem the situation on the short term. The police have to patrol these areas in creative ways that will beat the thieves to their game.

Proper maintenance of the roads to ensure free flow of traffic can render the rogues’ current tactics ineffective. Resources from the Lagos State Security Fund have to be deployed to effective use.

The police have constraints, but even where equipment is available, there is an apparent unwillingness to combat crime. The attitude of the police in attending to the complaints of victims sustains this impression. The highways that are in siege have police stations located on them. Combined use of the resources of these stations can keep the criminals away.

On the long run, governments must take a more profound interest in creating meaningful employment for the populace. Crime has become an easy alternative for the unemployed. Ineffective policing has made crime a low risk, and seemingly profitable venture.

The police should use the situations on these roads to make the point that crime is still illegal.