…allege they come in speed boats to perpetrate crime
Truck and tanker drivers at the Tin Can Island Port, Apapa, Lagos, have lamented the frequent armed robbery attacks on them by suspected hoodlums operating with speed boats around the sea port.
The drivers said that the bandits usually arrived at the the Second Gate of the Tin- Can Island Port between 12 midnight and 2.30am.
I had to quickly open the door before they would damage the vehicle. They ordered me to surrender all the money and mobile phones on me. I had about N45,000 left on me…
According to the drivers, the hoodlums would knock on the door of the vehicles, brandishing various dangerous weapons, including machetes and guns.
They claimed that the suspected criminals would then order them to open the doors of their vehicles or they would smash the windscreen and also inflict injuries on them.
One of the victims, a truck driver, who identified himself as Mohammed Umar, said, “We are really suffering, all the truck and tanker drivers are suffering. After spending days or, in some occasions, weeks on the road, we would pay money to the military, police, local government and area boys at different streets in Lagos. And when we finally get to Tin Can Island Port, some criminals that usually come in speed boats, would come out from the lagoon to rob us.
“I have been robbed at Tin- Can here, just once, and it was the most painful thing I had ever suffered, having being on the queue for about one week. I was sleeping and so also was my motor-boy when the armed robbers knocked on the doors of the vehicle, ordering us to open the door or they would smash the windscreen and still carry out their operations.
“I had to quickly open the door before they would damage the vehicle. They ordered me to surrender all the money and mobile phones on me. I had about N45,000 left on me. I gave the money to them. I also gave them my phone. My conductor was with N6,000. He gave the money to them and also surrendered his phone before they let us alone. The experience was too bad. So, there is no security in this country anywhere. I’m from Kaduna State while my conductor is from Bauchi State. Driving a truck in Nigeria is full of sufferings and lamentations,” Mohammed explained.
Also recalling his experience, another truck driver, Ibrahim Danladi, said, “It is true. Many of us have been robbed at Tin- Can Port. This Second Gate. It was at about 1.30am, when the criminals came with their cutlasses and guns to rob me inside my truck. The robbers were about twenty or more. They were ordering us to surrender our money and handsets. They knocked on the door of my vehicle. I saw them and believed that probably there was a new security arrangement at Tin- Can Port. But unknown to me, those I thought were security men turned out to be armed robbers. They first dispossessed me of my mobile phone before demanding all the money in my possession. They collected N38,000 from me. They also stole N4,400 from my conductor,” Ibrahim revealed.
Continuing, Danladi, however, said, “There’s supposed to be enough security at the ports. The military and policemen should not abandon us to our fate during the wee hours. They should protect us because we are also human beings. The government – Federal, state and local governments should know that we are human beings and should not be treated or abandoned like animal in the bush. If we want to get to the port on time, we have to spend heavily. We would pay the military, policemen, local government officials, hoodlums that positioned themselves at strategic positions along Oshodi- Apapa expressway, Ojuelegba – Apapa route, Ajegunle, Amukoko, Orile, and even Surulere.
“But the most worrisome is the criminal act by armed robbers, who would threaten us with gun and cutlasses. I heard that the criminals usually arrive at Tin- Can Port through the lagoon that divides Tolu, Olodi- Apapa, in Ajeromi- Ifelodun Local Government Area and Tin- Can, in Apapa Local Government Area. We are pleading with the government to give us maximum protection because without the trucks on the way, there will be no port activities. It will affect the economy of Nigeria and also the commercial activities because some of the things they buy in the market were imported. When it arrives the port, truck drivers will go and carry them to their various destinations. We are important people in Nigeria, too,” he added.
Yet another truck driver, Michael Usman, who hails from Auchi in Edo State said, “I was only attacked at Tin- Can when I came out of my vehicle to enjoy some breeze. About six people armed with cutlasses surrounded me and ordered me to bring out all the money on me. I gave them the N3, 100 in my pocket. They took away two of my mobile phones. I thought they were done with me, but I was wrong. One slapped me with the flat side of his cutlass and ordered me to get inside the vehicle.
“It was like a home video. I obeyed them and got inside my vehicle, where they ordered me and my conductor to bring out all the money we had or they would behead us. I was shocked! I was pleading with them, but when I found out that they were very serious about it, I had to hand over the N41, 000 on me. They also dispossessed my conductor of his mobile phone. Nigeria is turning to something else. There are armed robbers everywhere, killings everywhere and criminal activities everywhere. May God save all of us. Nigeria is not like this before,” he lamented.
Another driver, Jide Olushola, said even tanker drivers like him were not left out in the raid by the armed robbers.
Olushola said, “Many tanker and truck drivers have been robbed at Tin- Can while on queue. My friend, Ademola, was robbed here at Tin- Can Port. When the security men go to rest, the robbers would come around from their hideouts around 2.30am and 3am. Then the tankers and trucks drivers would be at their mercy. They would rob and inflict machete injury on drivers and conductors, who failed to cooperate or wasted their time. I heard that the hoodlums usually come in speed boats. In some cases they would even have the boldness to drain diesel from both tankers
and trucks.
“They would carry the substance to their speed boats and escape. Some will even threaten with guns. Now, if some people park their vehicles at the Tin- Can Port Gate, when it is around 1am, they would go and look for where to sleep far from the same port. There is no work and government is not doing anything about it. I am a graduate. I have B.sc in Mass Communication. There is no work anywhere, so I have to do something to feed my family. Nigeria is no longer reliable. The youths are angry. This is even the beginning unless government wake up to its responsibilities.”
