Commuters on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway have called for better policing on the popular “Long Bridge” on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway due to nefarious activities of carjackers and robbers on the bridge.
Many commuters were robbed at gunpoint late on Tuesday on the bridge, NAN reports.
The victims narrated their horrifying experiences separately in the hands of the armed robbers to NAN.
They said that the highway robbers took advantage of the downpour which resulted in a traffic snarl on the 3km bridge to perpetuate their evil intentions.
A victim, Morenike Odusanya, said that she was yet to recover from the shocking experience caused by the carjackers on the bridge, adding that the two side windows of her car were hit during the operation.
“It happened around 8:00 p.m. I was alone in the car when the armed robbers, after attacking the car in front of me, broke my car windows and demanded my phones and other belongings.
“I was speechless and could not utter a word because they looked too dangerous. The robbers, three in number, ransacked my car unhindered; looking for anything they could lay their hands on.
“The traffic was so serious that nobody could attempt to come to my aid. I could observe that those around were helpless as well, so no need of calling for help.
“After they were satisfied with ransacking my car, and they didn’t find anything valuable on me, they left. We really need police presence on this bridge,” she said.
Another witness, Bayo Shotade, said the armed robbers allegedly stabbed another passenger close to him in the eye, adding that the criminals later fled after hearing gunshots from the police.
“The police later came after a lady was stabbed in the eye and was covered in her own blood. Police were shooting in the air from a distance.
“If they had been patrolling the bridge very well, they would have saved the day.
“The police only showed their presence after the deed had been done, I think we are coming back to the era of constant robbery on this bridge.
“A woman beside me was yelling that a man was still down under the bridge, obviously running away from the robbery scene. We just wanted to get off the spot,” he said.
Another witness, Olatunde Ayeni, said that the robbery lasted a few minutes, adding that there had been reports of robbery incidents in the past days on the bridge.
“They robbed the commuters for a few minutes before it subsided. Police are all over the bridge combing underneath for them.
“For some time now, we have been experiencing pockets of robbery incidents on this bridge which should serve as a wakeup call to the police and the authorities concerned,” he said.
When contacted, the head of the Police Patrol Team monitoring the bridge, CSP Adesola Agboade, said that the police responded to the incident.
He said that the police action resulted in chasing the armed robbers out of the bridge, but no arrest was made.
“The robbery incident was due to the heavy downpour which caused a traffic snarl from Warewa end of the bridge to the Berger end in Lagos State.
“We got distress calls from commuters on the long bridge about the robbery incident and we responded, but by the time we got there, we did not meet them.
“The police detachment close to the spot had to release gunshots and later spotted the boys and gave them a chase, they ran under the bridge and escaped through the swampy bush,” he said. NAN.