FATTEH HAMID examines how insecurity has frustrated night travels in Nigeria
A businessman who deals in grains, Akintunde Lateef, was certain he wouldn’t embark on night travels after an unpleasant experience which affected his business.
Lateef, who lives in Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State, was robbed at gunpoint on the Ilorin-Jebba Expressway where he was dispossessed of his money, gadgets and other belongings.
He said, “I vowed never to travel by night again after the occurrence. We left Ibadan in the evening and just before we got to Mokwa, Niger State around 1 am, we saw a roadblock. At that point, I suspected trouble because I ply the route often and knew there was no roadblock.”
Lateef noted that everyone on the bus was frightened, especially the women among them who were also businesswomen travelling to buy bags of beans from farms like himself.
He said, “Suddenly, we were fired tear gas canisters while trying to alight from the bus. Our attackers charged at us and used rods and ropes to beat us. They then collected our phones and bags and pointed guns at our heads. The leader or spokesperson for the group warned us not to hide any other communication devices with us else they would shoot at us. We complied and gave them all they asked for. They ransacked our bags and took our money and other valuables.’’
Lateef explained that the robbery lasted over 30 minutes and seemed coordinated.
He added, “Immediately they left, we started calling for help. Our driver and some others cleared the roadblock and he drove away from the scene. When we drove for about 10 to 15 minutes, we saw that other cars coming from Niger State weren’t moving. It was when we drove off that we saw the traffic eased. It was unbelievable because we didn’t see any bus move while the robbery lasted, which was unusual on that road.”
Lateef stated that he was robbed of about N3, 750,000. 00 and another businessman dispossessed of N4m, adding that most of the passengers lost money in millions.
He stated, “The experience was not a good one. We had to look for ways to be helped when we got to Mokwa. We begged the driver to take us back to Ibadan. He wasn’t willing because there were passengers waiting to board. One of us had to prevail on him that he would be paid once we returned to our destinations. At the time, some of us called the mobiles of those we knew offhand to narrate the situation. A Good Samaritan provided us with a phone for us to reach out to some of our loved ones and narrate our deals. It was a pathetic experience. When the driver agreed to return us to Ibadan, we were relieved but sad with the fact that we were robbed and couldn’t buy what we came for before returning.’’
Lateef noted that with the bad experience coupled with the losses, he could have lost his life hence his decision never to toy with the idea of travelling by night again. He said, “Nigeria is now insecure, even during the day. We pray to God for protection then one will compound it by travelling at night when anything can happen on the road.’’
Worrying cases
Recently, insecurity in the North and the South-East are worrisome. Amid lives lost to bad roads, many Nigerians have been kidnapped-for ransom and killed dastardly by gunmen.
In the northern part of Nigeria, the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, Katsina/Ala-Wukari Road, linking Benue and Taraba states, Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia Road, and Kaduna-Kano highway are dangerous routes where kidnappers hold sway. Many have been kidnapped and ransom paid while others were killed after ransom payment.
In the South-East, Imo and Anambra states have recorded horrible killings with members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra dissociating from the bloodletting.
In Anambra recently, a lawmaker in the state’s House of Assembly, Mr Okechukwu Okoye, who represented Aguata 2 Constituency of the state was kidnapped by gunmen. Days later, he was found beheaded with his head placed on a roadside in the Amichi community of the state.
Also in Anambra, a 32-year-old pregnant mother, Harira Jubril and her four children were killed by yet-to-be-identified gunmen who attacked their community. The children were Fatima, 9; Khadijah, 7; Hadiza, 5; and Zaituna, 2.
Other hotspots include the Kaduna-Saminaka-Jos highway, Keffi-Nasarawa-Toto road, Suleja-Lambata-Bida road, and Jibia-Gurbi-Kaura Namoda road, linking Katsina and Zamfara states.
In the South-East and South-South, some of the notorious routes include the Ebonyi-Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway, Enugu-Port Harcourt Road, and the Elele-Ndele Rumuji-Emuoha-Choba-Port Harcourt Road. Also in the South-West, the Lagos-Ibadan and Lagos-Abeokuta expressways, Ilorin-Ogbomoso Road, Ondo-Ore Road, Akure-Benin Road, Akure-Owo-Akugba Road are some of the notorious routes unsafe to ply at midnight.
Bad roads, insecurity choke night travels
Lateef’s experience is one among many near-death tales of travellers who hitherto enjoyed night travels in Nigeria.
A student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Chidinma Obinna told Saturday PUNCH of how she escaped death while returning to school from Lagos. She said, “We left the garage around 11pm in Ojuelegba, Lagos State and when we got somewhere around Osun and Ekiti States, we ran into a pothole and a tyre burst. While the driver and some men on the bus were trying to make a repair, we were attacked by some people who wielded cutlasses and charms. It was a terrible experience. The men on the bus tried to retaliate but the weapons were many and the attackers menacing. They had to retreat to avoid a bloody encounter.”
She added that the hoodlums threatened to use charms and inflict machete injuries on anyone who disturbed them. Obinna said, “They only collected cash from the passengers and after they did so, they left the spot. It was around 3am.”
She further said that they delayed their journey in order not to encounter attackers and parked at the gate of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State.
The student stated, “That experience was both terrible and sad because about N20,000 was taken from me at the time as a student. It was a lot of money for me as a student because I went hungry for days. Not only that, I couldn’t tell my parents at home because I had been warned not to engage in night travels.’’
A former onion seller at a Sasa Market, a popular market in Ibadan, Oyo State, Jibril Abdullahi, told our correspondent that night travels forced him out of business because he lost his capital when he was robbed.
He said, “I used to have a big store in Sasa. But I ceased being an onion seller when I lost everything I had in 2017 with debts on my neck. On that day, I prepared for an approaching new onion season and hence, pulled together my resources amounting to about N2m. Then I travelled with the money to the North. When we got to the Ilorin-Ogbomoso Expressway, we were attacked by some herders who used their cows to block the road as if they were crossing the expressway at the odd hours. They attacked us with guns and ‘sanda’ (rods). Despite the fact that most of us on the bus were from the North and travelling to buy goods to sell in the South, we were beaten. A passenger who tried to challenge them was severely beaten.’’
Abdullahi added that he nearly collapsed when the money on him was forcibly taken away, signalling the end of his business.
He said, “When I returned to Sasa, those who had lent me money were sympathetic towards me but that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t repay the loan. I sold the goods I had which I left in the care of a friend. I started working for some friends by taking their goods and selling them to share profit. I use whatever I make to cater to my needs and that of my family members.”
He further stated that he was managing with the business because he had yet to regain his financial loss, noting that things worsened in 2021 when a crisis erupted at Sasa Market between Yoruba and Hausa traders.
Abdullahi noted, “In short, that was why I decided that I won’t travel again at night even though it is faster than travelling during the day. At least, during the day one will see clearly and know where to run to even if there is an attack.’’
Also, a bank worker, Sekinat Omolola told Saturday PUNCH that she had to repeat an examination due to night travel.
She stated, “I was a student at University of Abuja when I made up my mind never to travel at night anymore. I had an exam for 9 am on a Wednesday and left Iwo Road, Ibadan, sometime after midnight on a night bus. When we were almost at Obajana, Kogi State, our bus stopped moving and the driver alighted to check what happened only to find out that the issue was with the clutch. It was around 5am but we were in a secluded area. We had no help. The driver told the passengers that he needed a mechanic to check on the bus and we cannot leave the place at the time.”
Omolola added that she flagged down some drivers of commercial buses speeding off to help her but none stopped. She said, “Around 7 am, the mechanic they got fixed the bus and we moved. However, we got to Abuja around 10.30 am and that was 30 minutes before the end of the exam I had.’’
She explained that during her time in the varsity, she had only a carryover course, stating that it was the examination she missed the day the vehicle broke down. She stated, “It was the only carryover I ever had and what pained me most was the fact that I was in my final year so I had to resit the exam the following year. I examined the stress, anxiety and security challenges in the country and can boldly say that I cannot embark on night travel anymore.’’
For another bank worker, Christine Adebanjo, she missed a flight in Abuja to the United Kingdom because of the inability to get fuel at night.
She stated, “I was to leave for the UK through the Abuja airport. Thus, we left Ibadan for Abuja at night. We had a fuel shortage on the way but he assured me that we would get fuel on the way. My brother who drove the car that day assured me that we would get fuel in some filling stations along the way but we didn’t get any.”
She added that the filling station they saw sold only diesel that day. Adebanjo stated, “We got to Kogi State before we could get fuel and that was around 7 am when my brother joined another bus and left me in a secure area to get fuel. I was at the spot for a few hours and we couldn’t get anyone to direct us to where we could buy fuel as other attempts made failed.
“By the time we got to Abuja, I had missed my flight and it was an experience I wouldn’t forget because I was not only scared at those lonely stops, I also thought that anything could have happened to me. If my blood pressure were checked then, I’m sure it would be high because I had a panic attack from the time we parked to search for fuel to daybreak.
She further stated, “Not only was a lesson well learnt, but I’ll also advise others to avoid a night journey in a country like Nigeria where there are lots of uncertainties on the roads.”
A traveller, Sarah Paul, told our correspondent that she had decided not to travel to Imo State for now because of the continuous attacks by gunmen in the state. She said, “These people don’t even abduct or kidnap again in the South-East, they now kill their fellow humans under the guise of whatever. In times past, night travels were desirable but now, it’s not something to consider.’’
A shoe importer, Matthias Samson, recalled that he was in Ebonyi last December and trapped on Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway. He added that he left Edo State at 7pm and hoped to be in Ebonyi in the morning to attend to some urgent issues and leave three days later.
Samson said, “I was worried when the driver kept meandering through routes and avoiding the bad portions of the road. He lamented at every turn and it dawned on me and the passengers that we gambled with our lives. We arrived late at our destinations and I told myself that it was a huge risk travelling that late. I was nervous throughout the journey. My uncle scolded me and advised that I shouldn’t travel at night again because apart from the poor state of the road, the insecurity level in the South-East is alarming.’’
For an undergraduate, Felicia Effiong, her bad experience on the Ibadan-Akure-Abuja expressway continues to haunt her.
She noted that she left Lagos at 9pm but the bus broke down on the poor state of the road. Effiong said when it was getting to 2am and the bus wasn’t fixed, the driver suggested that the passengers should find a place in the area where the vehicle broke down to wait till he got a mechanic.
She said, “It was a fearful night for me and others. We waited for two hours before his co-driver plying the same route came with a mechanic who fixed the vehicle around 4am. I made up my mind never to travel at night again. I feared that we could have been abducted or killed at that spot in that odd hour.’’
Adamant night travellers
But despite the insecurity in the country which has discouraged some travellers from night travels, some still enjoy the lure of night travels.
An athlete, Chigioke Akpan, who spoke with Saturday PUNCH correspondent noted that only God protects one on any sojourn.
He said, “I have been travelling at night for as many years as I can remember. I have not been a victim of bad circumstances. As much as I won’t negate those who don’t want to travel at night, I’ll only say that God only protects us all.”
Akpan, who noted that he had witnessed robbery when he travelled in the day along the Ondo-Ore Road, said he had never experienced such at night travel. He said, “God only protects us, I’ve travelled in the morning before and when we got to a narrow road, we were robbed of many things. That was in the afternoon. Now, you’ll agree with me that no time is safe with the bad roads and insecurity in Nigeria. But I know that God protects us all.’’
A second-hand clothes seller in Osogbo, Osun State, Beatrice Ojo, said she would still prefer night journeys over daytime travels.
She explained, “The peace of the road at night and the breeze are enough for one to decide to travel at night because there is no sun scorching over one’s head on a bus and neither will one wait hours in traffic. Night journey is the best.’’
Ojo further said that she had slept all through night travels but still preferred it to any other.
She said, “The same thing that kept me on the road in the night could keep me on the road in the day. It is also about accepting the fact that some things are meant to happen to one and neither day nor night contributed to the occurrence. It is about the immediate circumstance which one needs to accept. No matter what, I prefer to travel at night because for me it is the best.”
Transport firms speak
A manager at a popular transportation company in Lagos State, identified only as Kabir, stated that the government must work towards ending insecurity to make the roads safe both in daytime and at night.
He said, “If the government doesn’t give us good roads, how are the accidents going to stop on the highway? Would a kidnapper be able to lay siege to motorists on good roads? These are questions we should ask ourselves, we can’t continue like this, else, we’d have ourselves to blame.”
He further stated that if the government attended to the issue facing the transportation sector, it would reduce kidnappings and reassure Nigerians assurance that the roads were safe.
In his comment, an Assistant Manager with Chisco Transport Nigeria Limited, Jibowu, Lagos State branch, Ogwuche Ojoniko, stated that the level of insecurity in the country had taken a toll on their business.
He noted, “We have lost about 60 per cent of passengers due to the rise in insecurity. People are afraid to travel to the East because of the threats to life that comes with the havoc gunmen are wreaking.”
Ojoniko further said that despite the fact that they provide security officers to follow their buses, people aren’t too motivated yet they encourage customers to travel.
He stated, “The government needs to tackle insecurity. If there’s a way the government can intervene in the crisis in the East, they should try as much as possible to do so.’’
Ojoniko also urged the government to deploy soldiers to the East to tackle the issues confronting the part of the country.
Security experts proffer solutions
In his comment on the issue, a security expert, Tayo Olupona, emphasised the need to use experts to tackle banditry, kidnapping and insurgency confronting the country.
Olupona, who works with one of the leading country’s security firms, noted that if the government refused to take a prompt action in tackling insecurity, crime rates would increase to an unmanageable level.
Another security consultant, John Eweliku, opined that there should be an immediate campaign against travelling at night at this period.
He said, “Travelling during the day doesn’t have enough security talk more of the night. Recently, some travellers were abducted by terrorists on the Abuja-Kaduna highway. If this nefarious act can be done in the daytime, why should anyone desire to embark on a night trip?”
“What business exigency is so important than their lives that will make them opt for night travels? More so, if you can’t travel during the day, you can go at night by flight.’’
Eweliku stressed the need for the government, stakeholders and media organisation to carry out a campaign against travelling at night.
He said, “We can see that security forces at this moment cannot cope with the security lapses in the daytime not to talk of nightime. The best is to discourage night travelling for now until things improve and our security forces are able to curb the nefarious activities of the kidnappers and terrorists. Night travels should be discouraged for now.’’
Last year, the Federal Government took delivery of the final batch of the 12 A-29 Super Tucano fighter jets expected from the United States of America to fight insurgency.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who announced the delivery, said that the 12 Super Tucano fighter jets were deployed to the North-East.
Mohammed noted that the Tucano jets were a game changer.
Also, last month the Federal Government launched the N-Alert mobile application to help citizens contact security agencies across the country for swift intervention on crime, homicide and other security-related incidents.
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