I was under the illusion that it had become a thing of the past in our society, something of a dying vice. But I've come to learn the hard way that armed robbery is still very much alive in Nigeria and I am concerned that our security agencies in the wake of recent terrorist activities in the country have now ignored this age long scourge.
It was mid-week, around 8:30 pm or so. The evening was planned out, we had exams in two days so my friend T.boy and I had organised a group study session with a couple of girls in our class. I had just finished a plate of indomie noodles and we were engaged in a bit of idle talk as we waited for Joy who was to join us shortly. There was a knock on the door and Matilda rushed to open it. I was the first to notice. Joy walked in without a word and an expressionless face. At first I wasn't sure if what I was looking at was for real. By the time the others noticed him, he was already pointing the semi automatic rifle at me. I had a few thoughts; perhaps the police were on a surprise raid, possibly for drugs or maybe they were in the neighbourhood, in search of a criminal and needed to contain the environment. All my initial guesses went to shit as he motioned to me to get down. I was still in shock but the intruder went berserk when he noticed T.boy who was seated behind the door. The intruder was taken aback by my friend's humongous build, that he kicked me almost as if to say "why didn't you tell me of this" In an instant, I was laying face down on the floor with Matilda next to me. I sensed two more guys walk into the room. I tried to get a glimpse of them but lost all sense of curiosity when I felt the cold barrel of the gun pressed against my ear. "My friend don't look at me" his voice was husky, like he had a bad cough. I felt his hand go into my right pocket and he pulled out my wallet. "Wetin be your ATM pin?" He asked cooly. I told him the truth without giving it a thought. Matilda was still muttering prayers until I grabbed her hand and squeezed it in mine "please shut the fuck up" I said in my mind. She later told me that her biggest fear that night was getting raped but these guys were in too much of a hurry to clean out the house, rape was so not on their agenda. In less than 10 minutes, they made off with all our phones, T.boy's laptop, his iPad and a few of his clothes and accessories. "Don't get up until we have left this environment, I am ready to waste anybody this night" said the husky voice, I guessed that must be their commander. It was barely eight minutes after they were gone, all the other neighbours converged on T.boy's veranda. There was chaos as victims shared their different accounts of what transpired, what the robbers looked like, their massive guns and what had been taken from them. As the chatter continued, I stared in disbelief as four armed men casually strolled towards us. As soon as she saw them, Matilda screamed and ran into the room as did everyone else. I was too shocked to move. I also noticed the sluggishness in their gate which put me at ease, The Nigerian Police Force. "Why dem dey run?!" One of the officers shouted. They were dressed in casual clothes, walking into the scene of a 10 minute old robbery and he wondered why they were running. I was furious at them and demanded to see their badges which they reluctantly showed me. I pointed out the fact that they were not in uniform. "You want make we wear uniform so dem go shoot us?" One of them asked. I could tell that he was irritated and that their visit was only a mere courtesy. They asked why we didn't call the police and why we didn't attempt to capture one of the armed robbers. All the residents went mad and rained curses on the policemen. They invited all the victims to come and write statements in the morning after which they hurriedly left. In that instant, it dawned on me just how awful the security situation in the country truly is; Policemen scared of doing their job or being identified, violent men with sofisticated weapons and a great deal of anger, helpless citizens living in fear and having no one to count on.
It was mid-week, around 8:30 pm or so. The evening was planned out, we had exams in two days so my friend T.boy and I had organised a group study session with a couple of girls in our class. I had just finished a plate of indomie noodles and we were engaged in a bit of idle talk as we waited for Joy who was to join us shortly. There was a knock on the door and Matilda rushed to open it. I was the first to notice. Joy walked in without a word and an expressionless face. At first I wasn't sure if what I was looking at was for real. By the time the others noticed him, he was already pointing the semi automatic rifle at me. I had a few thoughts; perhaps the police were on a surprise raid, possibly for drugs or maybe they were in the neighbourhood, in search of a criminal and needed to contain the environment. All my initial guesses went to shit as he motioned to me to get down. I was still in shock but the intruder went berserk when he noticed T.boy who was seated behind the door. The intruder was taken aback by my friend's humongous build, that he kicked me almost as if to say "why didn't you tell me of this" In an instant, I was laying face down on the floor with Matilda next to me. I sensed two more guys walk into the room. I tried to get a glimpse of them but lost all sense of curiosity when I felt the cold barrel of the gun pressed against my ear. "My friend don't look at me" his voice was husky, like he had a bad cough. I felt his hand go into my right pocket and he pulled out my wallet. "Wetin be your ATM pin?" He asked cooly. I told him the truth without giving it a thought. Matilda was still muttering prayers until I grabbed her hand and squeezed it in mine "please shut the fuck up" I said in my mind. She later told me that her biggest fear that night was getting raped but these guys were in too much of a hurry to clean out the house, rape was so not on their agenda. In less than 10 minutes, they made off with all our phones, T.boy's laptop, his iPad and a few of his clothes and accessories. "Don't get up until we have left this environment, I am ready to waste anybody this night" said the husky voice, I guessed that must be their commander. It was barely eight minutes after they were gone, all the other neighbours converged on T.boy's veranda. There was chaos as victims shared their different accounts of what transpired, what the robbers looked like, their massive guns and what had been taken from them. As the chatter continued, I stared in disbelief as four armed men casually strolled towards us. As soon as she saw them, Matilda screamed and ran into the room as did everyone else. I was too shocked to move. I also noticed the sluggishness in their gate which put me at ease, The Nigerian Police Force. "Why dem dey run?!" One of the officers shouted. They were dressed in casual clothes, walking into the scene of a 10 minute old robbery and he wondered why they were running. I was furious at them and demanded to see their badges which they reluctantly showed me. I pointed out the fact that they were not in uniform. "You want make we wear uniform so dem go shoot us?" One of them asked. I could tell that he was irritated and that their visit was only a mere courtesy. They asked why we didn't call the police and why we didn't attempt to capture one of the armed robbers. All the residents went mad and rained curses on the policemen. They invited all the victims to come and write statements in the morning after which they hurriedly left. In that instant, it dawned on me just how awful the security situation in the country truly is; Policemen scared of doing their job or being identified, violent men with sofisticated weapons and a great deal of anger, helpless citizens living in fear and having no one to count on.
Nigeria my Nigeria
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