By: Abdulhafeez Oyewole
Imagine you have toiled around during the day in order to meet up with the responsibilities of taking care of your family, not to talk of the bills staring at you but which you have nothing to do about. Just Imagine after all the hustle and bustle of the day, you retired to bed half filled but you are contented with the fact that you were able to put food on the table of your family before they slept. However, upon waking up, it dawns on you that some of your valuables have been pilfered while you and your family were asleep and the weirdest things about it all is the knowledge that you were not the only one affected, some other homes in the neighborhood had also been stolen from by nameless night marauders whose operations; notwithstanding paying for the service of night guards in the community, were unnoticed until the day breaks and everyone is left dumbfounded.
This is the report of actual and recent events in a community in Tanke Oke-Odo area of Kwara state that is under siege by night marauders.
FACTUAL NAIJA NEWS learnt that incidents of robbery, looting and vandalism took place more than twice this year within a period of two months in AbdulAzeez Odunride Street, Tanke Oko-Oba area of the Tanke Oke-Odo, in the Ilorin South Local Government of Kwara state and not all these incidents were reported to the police. Although no life was lost during these incidents, property worth millions of naira were however vandalized, and looted. And since two of these incidents have been reported to the appropriate quarters, no tangible actions have been taken.
What the Community People have to Say
In an exclusive interview with our reporter, the Chairman of the landlord association of the affected neighborhood, a retired Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) Prof. Clement Bewaji, said the break-in which occurred in the house of one of their landlords and was reported on the Community WhatsApp group on January 11th 2024 was the first recorded incident in the Community.
He explained, “Recently we had a break in in one of the houses in the neighborhood. Some thieves broke into the house of one of us. He has been away for quite sometimes; may be they have been monitoring the situation. So they broke in and vandalized everything. They removed his ceiling fans, television sets, washing machine, laptops, and so on and so forth.”
He observed that the manner in which the looting was done, it must have been done by experts because some parts of the vandalized property were also clinically removed.
Prof. Bewaji said the second incident occurred almost a month after the first lone incident recorded in the year.
“On the night of February 6th, they went into a number of houses and removed five car batteries. There was another house they carried the generator. There was one house where the dog was barking. So that scared them. So they left two batteries [they stole from that house] on the fence and ran away,” he further explained.
He noted that they have interacted with the two guards engaged by the community and that the two incidents have dampened the morale of the people of the community.
According to him, the night guards, from the coordinated vigilante, are armed. They work from 7:00 pm to 6:00 am.
He said they used to have police patrols in their community until in recent times (about 6 months ago) that the regular patrol of at least twice a week ceased to frequent the community.
Prof. Bewaji, while noting that the Tanke Oke-Odo is a vast neighborhood which the community cannot say it wants to monopolize the patrol, he was of the opinion that perhaps those police patrols stopped coming because their vehicles have problems while plying their road.
“When we meet those officers during the surveillance on the road. Their major complaints for not patrolling the community is due to bad road network in the community. So they restrict themselves to the major roads that are more motorable.”
Professor Bewaji who informed that the community has since 2006 had their security arrangement, agreed that security challenges are all over the country, and thus, “security agencies could be overwhelmed.”
On panacea, the Professor emphasised, “Some people have mentioned state police. We used to have them in the 1st Republic. Side by side with the Nigeria Police, we also have local government police. I remember when I was young. For effective policing, we might have to go to that era.
Having a state police will go a long way in curbing the activities of this night marauders.”
Another resident of the Community who is a University Professor but preferred to speak to our reporter anonymously on the incident corroborated the neighborhood Chairman.
The resident said there were pockets of thefts in Tanke Oko-Oba axis, stressing that apart from the burgled houses, some shops were also burgled.
On effort of the community, the resident said, “The funny thing is that in my community, we hired the services of night guards that we contribute to pay their honorarium on monthly basis. So, immediately we observed what happened, the Chairman of our community Association invited the guards. None of them confessed to knowing anything about it.”
The resident noted that none of the stolen property, such as car batteries, generator, washing machine and so on, has been returned to the community despite the engagement of security agents after the incidents; “Then we reported at the Police station and we also reported at the Nigerian Civil Defence office. We are still waiting on their response.”
Meanwhile, the resident has a holistic piece of advice on averting security breakdown, “I think there is a need for us to beef up security all over this place. We need deployment of more security agents to everywhere.
“Then there is a need for the provision of gainful employment for our youths by government and private establishments. If they are engaged seriously in the day, they won't become marauders at night. Hence, the issue of employment is key.
“Then when we see the gathering of youth [in the community], security agents should try to disperse them. When there are idle hands clustering around especially at odd hours, something must be done.
Then the common things that we say that ‘if you see something say something’. If we notice unholy movement in our environment, we should blow the whistle.”
Another resident who simply identified himself as Mr Gold noted that apart from the warm reception given to him and a co-resident with whom he reported the burgling of their respective apartments by the DPO of the F Division of the Kwara Command of the Nigeria police, nothing impressive has emanated from the case as there has been no arrest made or suspects interrogated.
He also alleged that that the Officer in Charge whose name he wouldn't want to reveal has been ignoring his phone calls.
Barr. Funsho Adejumo, another victim of the break-in in the community behind Bekandims hotel, Tanke Oke-Odo area of Ilorin, who is also a legal practitioner told our reporter that the incident happened to be the second time his house was burgled.
He said when he moved into the community two years ago, his pumping machine and outside box of his Air Conditioner were stolen.
He said the recent raid that led to his car battery being stolen was shocking to him, adding that the incident happened just overnight when people in the neighborhood were indoor sleeping and only to wake up to the news of raid by marauders.
The lawyer disagreed with the alibi of the night guards who claimed they were not around when the incident happened despite being paid by the community.
Barr Adejumo also re-echoed the need for police patrol in the community, “When there is police patrol. People will be scared to do a lot of things. Police patrol can actually help. You know, once awhile if they come around, with their siren at night, people will be scared to do bad things. I think these is one of the ways security can be more enhanced in this environment.”
Another victim [of the first lone incident] and resident of AbdulAzeez Odurinde Street, Mr Oladosu, who said he works at UNILORIN, said he was robbed of almost every material thing his family has. He accused the Nigerian state and its agents of providing an enabling environment for criminals.
In his words, "Because the government provides no municipal water, I pump water from a well. Because electricity is erratic, I bought a generator. Now my generator and pumping machine have been taken away; but that's the least of the grave issues.
“Our life is not secure and we employ vigilantes even though we are a nation with police, SSS and the NSCDC, yet my home was stripped down to curtains and electric knobs and the best response we got from the Nigerian state, the monopoly of force, is another robbery in the neighbourhood in February again."
Mr Oladosu accused the Nigerian State of waiting for criminals to start plucking Nigerian citizens who reside beside Bekandims at Oke-Odo from the warmth of their beds as being experienced in Abuja before reacting despite having a chance to be proactive and thus described the situation with Nigerian state as self-sabotage which is akin to suicide.
Neighborhood security arrangement
Also speaking with our reporter in a telephone chat, the resident in charge of the night guards in the community, Mr Andrew Otonekwu, helped us understand further about the security arrangement in AbdulAzeez Odunride Street and adjoining streets of Oko-Oba area in Tanke, Ilorin.
He said because the community is a student area, people move in and out at night. He said the two night guards engaged by the community for the past three years, use local guns. He said security concerns motivated them to engage the native guards who are not members of the community.
He also said the leader of the guard is a vigilante and it was through him that the other guard was engaged. He said the community pays for these night guards’ services every month.
He suggested people in the community have a safety dog in their respective houses. He was of the opinion that it was the barking of his dog that made the night thieves abandon the two stolen batteries on the fence of his house.
Mr Otonekwu noted that there are a lot of hoodlums around the community and thus encouraged inspection by law enforcement agents and advised that the police patrol be resumed in their area as well, in order to salvage further security threats and apprehension in the community.