Monday, February 22, 2010[b]
Pen Cinema, Lagos: From movie arena to den of handset thieves[/b]

WAHEED BAKARE


Femi (not real name) works with a second generation bank's branch on old Ota Road, Agege, Lagos. But he lives in Ikeja. He avoids taking the Agege route when going home to avoid the persistent traffic snarl that normally builds up around 7pm. On a particular day, he needed to take the route he had been avoiding like a plaque for the sake of a colleague of his who lives in Egbeda.

[img]http://odili.net/news/source/2010/feb/22/punch/images/pix20100222633168[1].jpg[/img]
PHONE THEFT


http://odili.net/news/source/2010/feb/22/811.html


After the close of work around 8pm, Femi gave his friend a ride in his car. After his friend alighted, Femi decided to drive through Pen Cinema for onward journey to Ikeja. But he would later discover that it was a costly mistake. He forgot to lock up the doors of his car and there was the usual traffic snarl. As Femi approached the railway crossing in Agege, an unknown man opened one of the back doors and sat down comfortably. As Femi hurriedly turned his head to find out who the intruder was and to question his effrontery, the unknown man brought out a gun.

The words of wisdom of the first Nigerian president, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, that "Only a foolish man argues with a man with a gun" quickly registered in Femi's mind. As demanded by the uninvited man, Femi gave out his two handsets, his wallet containing some money, ATM cards, wrist watch and ring.

Having accomplished his devilish plan, the predator advised Femi to wind up his car windows. He alighted and quickly dashed across Desalu Street by the railway crossing and disappeared into thin air. Femi was devastated and short of words.

But since there were two police stations within the vicinity, the victim felt it was wise to lodge a complaint with the police. However, he was shocked by the response of the policemen at one of the stations. According to him, policemen on duty said there was nothing they could do as the area is known for its notoriety. They simply advised him to go home and nurse his wound. He was further advised to always lock up his car and wind up whenever he passes through that route, especially at night.

Apart from the banker, two journalists also lost their handsets to the notorious thieves operating in the area within a week.

Investigation shows that the thieves mostly go after cars that have lone occupants and they normally strike immediately after the rail line or at the traffic light at Pen Cinema. Since they operate in gangs, one of the tricks employed by the hoodlums is that one of them will either bang the booth of your car to distract your attention or run after your car to claim that you run over his leg. As you are either sympathising with him or debunking his claim, his partner in crime will dubiously dip his hand into your car and remove your handset or any other valuable item within his reach.

Apart from motorists, pedestrians are also not free from the antics of these hoodlums. In the case of pedestrians, what they do if they observe that your handset is in your breast pocket is for one of them to be behind you. He will either cough or sneeze at your back and give you the impression that he spat on your cloth in the process. He will then bring out a handkerchief to give you the impression that it is his duty to clean the "mess" on your clothe. Along the line, he will use the same handkerchief to cover your breast pocket and cleverly remove your handset. Victims of this trick are mostly men.

Apart from Pen Cinema, other notorious spots where the practice is common are Ojuelegba, Egbeda roundabout, Dopemu Road and Ketu.

My purse was similarly stolen in London - PPRO

Speaking on the matter, the Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Mr. Frank Mba, described the scenario as difficult because in such cases, victims sometimes reported late to the police and also found it difficult to describe their attackers.

In a telephone interview with our correspondent, Mba said, "What we do in such a case is to either organise raid, intensify patrolling or carry out visibility policing of such areas identified as notorious areas . Beyond that we all have a duty to be security conscious. If you are driving, you must be security conscious. In London my purse was stolen because I wound down while I was driving and some hoodlums capitalised on that to steal my purse.

"If you are driving and your car is air conditioned, you must wind up. That is the standard practice anywhere in the world. If your car has no air condition, you must pin down and wind up your side window up to a level where no one can dip his hand inside your car.

"At times people want to show off, may be because you have a flashy handset or a bag, you want people to know and you now display it. This is unnecessary. Don't keep flashy things in a way that will attract criminals. Don't create the enabling environment for criminals to attack you."