Crime & Court
Apapa traffic : Truck drivers recount ordeals in the hands of robbers
As the chaotic traffic continues to linger along the port access roads, truck drivers have decried the constant attacks on them and the vandalisation of their vehicles and goods by hoodlums.
Speaking with Vanguard Maritime Report, some of the truck drivers said hardly can one find a truck driver that had not experienced an attack on the highway both during the day and at night, as these hoodlums threaten them daily with guns, weapons and other ammunition. The drivers said the hoodlums do away with every valuable thing they have and at times they also loot the containers and carry the goods. A choked-up section of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, taken over by trucks.
One of the truck drivers who spoke with Vanguard Maritime Report on the issue, Adekanmi Oyeshina, said, “I have been attacked several times; I was even attacked three days ago on this same spot.
“The container was empty then so they took my phones and money. During attack, the robbers do pack goods in the container as well especially when we are travelling to places like Kano. “At least I have up to four or five friends who got robbed of goods in their containers and when the armed robbers loot the containers, they found out that it was filled with clothes.” He also said that they do not usually see whatever is loaded in the container until they get to their destination and it is offloaded in their presence. Similarly, Adebayo Olufemi who revealed he just got licensed as truck driver, gave an experience of his colleague.
“I have never been attacked before but according to what I have heard, attacks usually occur whenever we travel via wharf road to Apapa whether the driver is sleeping or not, in the day and night; the robbers are always attacking truck drivers there. “They will remove the tyres of the truck take their phones and money even from Ojota to Apapa that is where we have the worst attacks. We do not see whatever we carry unless we get to our destination and the container is offloaded in our presence, that is when we see what we have been carrying. “Even the Customs do not check the goods if our particulars are intact.
If our particulars are not intact we would not be allowed to move out of Apapa. Even if the driver manages to leave Apapa, he will still encounter some Custom officers before he gets to his destination. We usually load at wharf, second gate, terminal and others,” he said. In the same vein, Ogundare Richard revealed he had also been attacked.
He noted that the armed robbers do threaten them with sharp items or weapons and would order them to surrender their belongings or else they will use their weapons on them. Similarly, a truck driver who simple identified himself as Jacob, said that they have been victims of several attacks on the containers. He stated: “I was attacked one night here at Alakija and I did not even know when it happened until I got to the place where I was to offload the goods and found out that the container key has being cut off with a cutter and several cartoons of powdered milk was carted away.
“I was arrested and put in jail for about three weeks to one month until investigations were made and it was discovered that I was robbed before they released me. “Am not the only person that have been attacked. Several people have also been attacked on this road.” Also another truck driver, Musa said “I was attacked and they took everything I had with me, they took my money, my wristwatch, my chains, even my clothes and two of my extra tyres, they left me with nothing because that very day my container was empty, so they took away all my personal belongings.”
Justice Maryanne Anenih of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has issued a public summons for former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello to appear in court to respond to a fresh 16-count indictment.
The summons requires Bello to attend court on October 24 for his arraignment, alongside co-defendants Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu.
The public summons was ordered following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In her ruling, Justice Anenih directed the EFCC to publish the summons in a widely circulated newspaper to ensure proper notification.
Also, the court instructed the EFCC to post copies of the public summons at Bello’s last known address and in conspicuous locations within the court premises.
The EFCC has reported difficulties in serving the charges, which were filed on September 24, alleging that Bello and the two co-defendants committed a criminal breach of trust involving a staggering ₦110.4 billion.
A Police Inspector, Mohammed Bulama, attached to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) 41 in Yobe State, has been arrested for allegedly killing a 39-year-old civilian, Abdulmalik Dauda, during a confrontation in Damaturu, the state capital.
The incident, which occurred on September 29, 2024, was sparked by a heated argument between Bulama and Dauda over “uncleared transactions” in the Zango area of Damaturu. The argument escalated, leading Bulama to fatally stab Dauda in the chest.
In a statement, the Yobe State Police spokesperson, Dungus Abdulkarim, confirmed Bulama’s arrest and announced that an investigation into the homicide case had been launched.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Garba Ahmed, has ordered an immediate and thorough investigation into the incident involving Inspector Mohammed Bulama,” Abdulkarim said.
He further disclosed that the officer has been placed in custody, pending internal disciplinary action and prosecution.
CP Ahmed condemned the actions of the officer, extending his condolences to the family of the victim.
He also assured the public that justice would be served swiftly in accordance with the law.
The Lagos State Police Command has summoned three officers accused of extorting N1 million from members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the Surulere area of Lagos.
Footage of the incident, which went viral on social media late Friday, shows the officers confronting the corps members, reportedly over the absence of a physical copy of a driver’s license. The video was shared by social media user Oluyemi Fasipe, who claimed that the officers threatened the corps members with firearms and forcibly took them to the Kafaru Oluwole Tinubu House, the Area C Command of the Lagos State Police, where they allegedly extorted the sum of N1 million.
“Dear @BenHundeyin, Your officers today in Surulere extorted 1 million naira from three corps members,” Fasipe wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “They were threatened with firearms, kidnapped, and taken to the KAFARU OLUWOLE TINUBU HOUSE AREA C POLICE COMMAND of the @LagosPoliceNG where they were robbed.”
Fasipe added that the entire incident stemmed from the corps members’ inability to present a physical copy of a driver’s license, a situation he described as “evil.”
In one of the videos, the officers are seen inspecting the vehicle’s documents, with the situation escalating as additional officers arrived. One officer can be seen entering the car and demanding that the corps members stop recording the incident, while also prohibiting them from contacting their families.
In response, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that the officers involved have been summoned, and an investigation is underway.
“The men have been summoned, and their trial has commenced,” Hundeyin wrote on X. “We urge the complainants to visit the Complaint Response Unit at the State Headquarters to testify at the ongoing trial.”
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