Motorists and commuters plying the Ijora-Apapa Expressway in Lagos on Thursdayexpressed worry over what they called unprecedented armed robbery attacks on the road.
They told the News Agency of Nigeria that hoodlums had taken advantage of incessant traffic snarls on the road to unleash terror.
Adewale Shoyemi, a motorist, said plying the road had been a nightmare to him.
Shoyemi said: “I do not ply the road from 9pm.
“The robbers have become a terror to motorists and other road users.
“Anyone who fails to cooperate with them will have himself to blame as they will vandalise his car.
“The hoodlums might attack the victim if he or she fails to cooperate with them.
“I have reported several times to the police on duty at Apapa Area Command and they have promised to take urgent action yet nothing seems to have been done.
“The hoodlums continue to operate unchallenged.”
Another motorist, Hassan Adebayo, said the robbers also disguise as beggars to rob their victims of their valuables.
Adebayo said: “They usually pretend to be beggars and target mostly occupants of posh cars and dispossess them of their valuables.
“That is why I do not give beggars money at nights when I am driving because they always arm themselves with dangerous weapons and pretend to be beggars.”
A resident, Jolade Adeshina, also told NAN that the armed robbers, who were mostly youths, had been attacking residents at night after their operations on the road.
Adeshina said: “The armed bandits do not only operate at nights even when there are streetlights, but also operate in broad daylight.
“Barely some weeks ago, two armed robbers snatched a car valued at N4 million from a businessman in Apapa area and this is just one out of the numerous attacks.”
Another resident, Jide Ibrahim, said the hoodlums had devised other methods of attacking their victims either on the Ijora causeway or within the residential areas.
“The robbers also take advantage of the traffic situation to rob road users plying the Apapa bridge,” Ibrahim said.
He appealed to security agencies, especially the police, to come to their aid to end the menace.
NAN also leant that the areas where the robbers carry out their criminal activities are Mile 2 Bridge and Coconut.
Contacted, the spokesman for the state police command, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said: “We are on top of the situation.
“We have not relented in our efforts in ensuring that the state is crime-free.
“You know how aggressive we have been patrolling these areas.
“The truth is that the police cannot be everywhere at the same time.
“Our goal is to keep Lagos safe and we deploy policemen to every nook and crannies of the state to ensure that hoodlums do not take over the city.
“I must also appeal to Lagosians not to hesitate to report any criminal activity in their areas to the nearest police stations.
“The Police Commissioner, Mr. Kayode Aderanti, will not condone any form of criminal activities in the state.”