By Galaxy Imamandu
WORRIED by the recurring incidents of armed robbery along Jakpa road in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, in recent times, human rights activist cum journalist and Executive Director of Global Action Against Hunger, Crime and Violation of Peoples’ Rights (GAHCAVPER), Comr. Emeka Nwokocha, has called on Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adeyinka Adeleke Bode, to put a crackdown on the marauding gangs of armed robbers.
Comr. Nwokocha described the development as horrifying, saying that the criminal elements regularly attack and rob commuters, motorists, and pedestrians with ease any time of the day along the busy Jakpa Road, near Warri.
He said, “it is important to call on the Commissioner of Police in Delta State, Mr. Adeyinka Bode, to deploy a crack team of police to smash the notorious armed robbers operating along Jakpa Road, in Uvwie Local Government Area of the state, in recent times. The robbery incidents are becoming a recurring decimal as the criminal elements carry out the robbery operations with uncommon boldness, even daring the security operatives.”
Continuing, Comr. Nwokocha stated that some of the motorists who were victims of the menacing robbers reported that the gang of robbers usually patrol the Jakpa Road in tricycle popularly known as “keke”, waiting for an opportunity to rob any unsuspecting motorist who stops for a while to drop-off a passenger. He noted that the robbery operations are usually carried out quitely, saying, “passersby will not know someone is being robbed.”
He continued: “credible information reveals that the robbers adopt a “smart mode” of operation as they would smartly block any car that pulls over to drop-off a passenger and quickly jump into the car. In that process, they will dispossess the driver of his cash, cellphone(s), and other valuable items. If he attempts to resist their unfriendly overture to surrender all that he has with him, they will show their guns. Even as the robbery goes on,
passersby would not suspect anything is amiss, as the robbery is quietly perfected without a noise or scuffle that can attract the attention of passersby. In some cases, the robbers would dispossess the motorist of his/her valuables, and jump into their Keke and speed off. But sometimes, they will go with the vehicle.”
Comr. Nwokocha noted that the police team that sometimes patrol the Jakpa road need to be reinforced with additional manpower and logistics to increase their patrol and surveillance duties. He said that the importance of security in boosting economic and social activities along Jakpa road cannot be over stressed, even as he blamed the nonexistence of night life in Warri, Effurun, Ekpan, and other towns in the state on rising insecurity.
“In the old good days in Warri and other bubbling cities in Delta State, night life enhanced the socioeconomic status of the people and even reduced tension occasioned by life’s challenges.
“It was a sweet memory to savour. But all the fun associated with night life has taken a nose-dive in our burgeoning Delta State because crime is increasing by the day, and safety of lives and property is evidently a mirage currently,” Comr. Nwokocha stated.
