By Fatima Muraina,Adekola Afolabi,& Saheed Ibrahim

Armed robbery traced to Okada riders is now on the high rise in Akure, the Ondo State capital, investigation by The Hope has shown.

With the restriction on Okada riders by the state government, armed robbers suspected to be okada riders have now shifted their operations from night to daylight.

Victims of the robbers who narrated their experiences said the “gunmen” usually feign accident to rob their victims by first hitting the victims’ vehicle with okada to force them to a halt.

As soon as the motorist stops to observe what has happened, a gun wielding man either with okada or in connivance with a commercial taxi will swoop to rob him or her.

Some of the flash points of the criminals are: Oda road, Oke Ijebu, Adebowale area of Ondo Road, Agbogbo area of Owo express road, Aule, First bank/government house road alagbaka among others.

One of the victims, who was robbed by a taxi driver, Miss Esther Kieribo told The Hope she and other passengers were robbed at gun point very close to Ade Super Hotel one evening.

“I boarded a cab going to roadblock from St. Peters. I was the last passenger that boarded, so I sat at the front with one other guy

“The moment we got to that bushy place at Ade Super Hotel, the driver stopped the cab and collected everything on us at gun point.

“They were three while we passengers were also three. They took everything we had on us while pointing gun at us.

“Anytime I get to that place again and the driver slows down, I usually feel hysterical. They think I am mad but the experience haunts me till date,” she narrated.

Another victim, Tope Johnson also robbed in a cab around road Block at early hours on July 2, this year was on his way to FUTA Northgate.

“I was robbed around roadblock by four people in a taxi cab around 7:05am. I remember the date because it was the day the phone clocked a month.

“After entering a cab at Chicken Republic close to roadblock, going to north gate. I was in front of the cab.

“When we got to that junction that leads to Oríta Obele, those at the back and the one beside me started gripping me. One held my neck, one held my hand, they wanted to access my pocket.

“It was a big struggle because I didn’t give in, I was using my elbow to hit the one beside me and the driver. Eventually, they dropped me around Arcade when I didn’t give in. They practically dragged me out of the cab.

“But they took my second phone (infinix hot 12i). It all happened less than five minutes between roadblock and arcade.

Another victim who does not want his name in print  said there was a day he navigated through one-way near College of Health Technology, Oda Road like others and saw an okada rider coming towards him without looking at his direction.

He said he had to halt the vehicle after honking to notify him but didn’t respond till the rider hit his car.

The victim said suddenly, his accomplices appeared and started beating him and ransacking his car in search of money.

He said it was the quick intervention of his colleague that saved him.

Another victim who escaped by the whiskers said she almost killed two of the robbers who attempted to block her with their okada while driving along Oke Ijebu in Akure.

She told The Hope that an okada rider attempted to overtake her vehicle only to point a gun at her on motion, demanding that she park, but she dared him and sped off, while two others attempted to block her but she summoned an unusual courage and almost kill them while trying to escape with her SUV car.

Another victim, a civil servant in the Government House and Protocols, Governor’s Office, Alagbaka Akure, Asekeji Doyin, narrating his own experience which occurred sometimes ago, said he was blocked by some okada riders along Kajola, Akure, while returning home from work on the fateful day.

According to the victim, the hoodlums numbering about five blocked him around TDK filling station  around past seven in the evening.

He said they started slapping and hitting his face with blows before ransacking his pocket and car in search of money and other values.

He added that the attackers used two motorcycles to carry out their operations.

“I closed around some minutes to seven and on my way home along Oda Road after TDK filling station, an Okada man hit my car from the back and I stopped to ask why. As I was about alighting, another bike man crossed me in the front.

“Before I could get down, they started beating me, hitting my face and my head with blows so that I would not be able to recognize anyone of them. They beat hell out of me and my face swelled up. So, in the process, they started searching my pocket and took the little change in my pocket. They took my ID card thinking that it is my ATM card. They returned it when they saw it.

“I could not recognize anyone among them. Nobody came to my rescue when they were beating me. All the vehicles passing sped off, no one stopped”, he said.

Doyin said the tactic is another way of robbing people of their belongings in the state and asked the residents to be watchful.

Another victim, Khadijat Adebayo, said she was attacked in the presence of her husband in front of her shop at Aule Estate in Akure, where her husband came to pick her after the sales on that fateful day at about 8.15pm.

“My husband was waiting in the car, while I locked my shop with my daughter standing by my side. Before then, I had earlier saw two men on the motorcycle discussing at a distance, but never knew that they were watching us.

“On getting to the car, my daughter had alighted while I was about to as I opened the door, one of the men rushed to me pointing a gun on my left ear, demanding for money and they eventually parted with all my valuables and sales of that day”, she narrated.

According to her, it was an experience she will always remember because she never believed that people could use ‘Okada’ to rob and her husband had to surrender everything they demanded for.

“The person that walked up to me, dressed like a professional Okada’ rider with a hooded face. I tried to look at his face but it was well covered like an Okada man who was on duty.

“We were robbed of our phones, the money we wanted to go and deposit for land on behalf of one of our workers as well as my handbags.

“The second experience I had was when they came directly into my shop to rob me.

She observed that they operated strategically within the location for a period and shifted to another base and the use of motorcycle makes their operations fast and neat. Some of the victims who narrated their bitter experiences to The Hope called on security agencies like Amotekun to save residents from further robbery and molestation.

When contacted, Ondo State Amotekun commander, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye said his men will continue to enforce the 6pm to 6am ban on commercial motorcycles.