Police say they are increasing surveillance patrols to tackle “one-chance” robberies in Rivers State.
It follows our exclusive news report where taxi drivers and residents warned of a rise in "one-chance” robbery and pickpocketing along the Rumuokoro-Choba axis of the East-West road. The spokesperson of the State Police Command, Grace Iringe Koko, said the State Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations, the Rumuokoro Divisional Police Officer and tactical team commanders to increase surveillance patrols in the area to ensure that one-chance robbers are brought to justice. SP Iringe-Koko, however, advised passengers to be cautious when boarding commercial vehicles and to avoid deceitful conversations.
“One chance” is a form of robbery in which criminals disguise as commercial motorists to dispossess people who board their vehicles of their belongings and push them out afterward. Port Harcourt residents say the criminals now use POS machines to extort money from victims. One of the victims, a mother of two, narrated how she was almost deceived. “As I enter the taxi, the guy was like asking me, can I help him?” she said in Pidgin. “That he is going to a place wey em don't know; that he just come new from Cameroon; that he has dollar with him. As I hear that dollar, I quickly get the signal, ask the driver to drop me that I am not going again. Driver ask me why, I say I want to drop, I’m not going again, as I drop dey nai call me witch,” she said.
Another Port Harcourt resident said his wife’s phone was stolen in a commercial vehicle. “Them do my wife also, sunday morning was going to church, three people dey for back, one chance for front, now they tell my wife make em shift, make em balance well, ah madam balance well na, as make em just check bag wey em hold, bag dey open, phone don go, seven thousand wey em hold, don go,” he said
A taxi driver said passengers have become extra careful due to the prevalence of one-chance robberies. They now look scrutinizingly inside a taxi before getting on one. “That is why I no blame anybody wey dey look inside before em enter motor, I nor dey blame am, because of our experience," he said
A young lady, 20, said one-chance criminals tactically push their victims out of the taxi after robbing them. “When you want to close the door, they will be like my hand my hand hand hand, then you trying to open the door na, they have collected what they want, they will push you out of the taxi,” she said. Reacting to this, a transport worker and task force chairman at Rumuokoro Park, Bright Nwosu, advised passengers to visit motor parks and avoid entering taxis along the roadside. He alleged that most taxis plying the Rumuokoro-Chobaaxis are not genuine drivers. He also said those doing the one chance do not operate from the park. “But, if you enter the motor inside the park, we identify the motor. Whatever motor that load in the park we have his number so we identify the motor immediately, we’ll ask the next motor, you load before so so and so motor where is that motor, then they will let us what happened,” he added.