Abuja residents are living in fear due to a surge in “one-chance” robberies, a form of organized crime involving criminals posing as public transport drivers and then robbing their passengers.
These criminals may drive around with passengers before robbing them, sometimes engaging female cohorts to further deceive their victims.
In recent cases, the criminals have become more brutal, killing victims, throwing them out of moving vehicles, or inflicting serious injuries.
The survival of victims often depends on the value and amount of money they give to the criminals.
Victims, such as Gladys Haruna and Paschal Kelechi, have reported horrifying ordeals. Gladys was driven to another location, beaten, stripped of her belongings, and forced to transfer all her funds to the criminals.
Paschal was harassed, robbed of his possessions, and pushed out of a moving vehicle.
In response, the Federal Capital Territory police have arrested eight suspected “one-chance” syndicates and recovered eight operational vehicles used by them.
The police are intensifying crackdown operations against these criminals and other violent crimes in the FCT.
Haruna Garba, the FCT Police Commissioner, announced that two separate joint task forces have been set up to tackle the “one-chance” menace and other criminal activities in the FCT and its environs.
The police are determined to rid the territory of crimes and criminalities, and residents are hopeful that “one-chance” robberies will soon decline.