Driving in the Dark

Photo credit:nl.depositphotos.com

About two and a half months ago, I went out for a friend's birthday dinner somewhere in Ikoyi. It was a pleasant evening and we chatted late into the night, eventually leaving Ikoyi at about midnight. As my friend didn't drive, I was going to drop her off at home along the Lekki axis and then return to Victoria Island where I live. 

The road being good, open and well lit, I had no concerns whatsoever about any security problems. I have hardly heard of any security problems on that road anyway, and being a chronic lover of the night, I am more than used to driving in the dark. 

In just about ten minutes or so we had arrived at the estate where my friend was residing. It's a gated estate and they have these OPC guys guarding the estate. I thus was not surprised, when, after honking, an armed man came out of the gate. I put on the car's inner lights and wound down and explained to him that I was just dropping my friend off and would be right back. He said ok, and opened the gate. From that point it took me just about five minutes to drop off my friend and get back to the estate gate.

When I got to the gate, the same man who had let us in stood in front of my car pointing his gun straight at me. At this point, I still did not think there was anything amiss. I simply thought he was an over zealous OPC security guard. I put on the inner lights again and mouthed that I just came in to drop someone, and would be leaving now.

He simply shouted at me - "Will you come down now or I blast your head off!"

It was only at that point that I looked around the car and to my shock, there were about ten heavily armed men surrounding the car, all with raised automatic rifles pointing at me. Two of them were now banging the windows saying that if I move an inch they would shoot into the car.

To be honest, i didn't budge at first. I just sat there contemplating my options. My car is a very large 4 x 4 and I was seriously contemplating stepping on it and blasting them right out of my way and right through the gate. I have in the past been attacked by armed robbers and on each occasion I shocked the robbers with some serious James Bond Driving and got away clean. However something just told me (and I thank God I did not try it, as later events showed) to just play it cool and do as they said. So I came down from the car.

As soon as I came out, they attacked me with the butts of their guns and bundled me into the boot. They then reversed the car and parked it in a corner. At this point I could see them mulling about the first house in the estate. Then they produced a very large iron hammer (someone later told me its called an "Adam's Hammer", I don't know, but it was the largest hammer I have ever seen in my life. It took two of them to hold it.) With the hammer they blasted open the gate and told the security men to lie down on the floor. Then they brought me out of the back of the car.

My friends, this was how these guys took me at gun point on a three hour robbing, killing and ra.ping spree, never letting me out of their sights and holding me at gun point into each of the houses they broke into. 

In the first house, after robbing the house, they shot dead one of the security men, for reasons I don't know. 

Thereafter, I was bundled into the back of my car and all ten of these guys somehow crammed into the car. About three of them were bundled in the back sitting right on my head, about four in the rear seat and three in front. They sped out of the estate gate and from that point all the way to the lekki expressway, put their guns out of the windows and began shooting indiscriminately into the air. It was the loudest and most present show of gun fire I have ever experienced in my life, simply harrowing. At the same time I thought to myself that it would be ok if they just shot me: I have not had the best of years this year, and being put out of misery was not altogether the worst thing I could think off. So with this flurry of gunfire, I strangely became calmer and sort of resigned to whatever would happen.

They drove for a while and entered another neighborhood. Same thing again - they parked outside a house - a very large and well fortified house. Jumped out, bringing me along at gun point. I kept begging them to take things easy, to relax and not to kill me. I was asked to shut up or be shot. I was amazed at the ease with which they broke into the house. Again the hammer. One slam and the gate flew open. They took the hammer inside and to my shock, just three giant slams and the window beside the frontdoor was thrashed, buglar-proofing, wall and all. Inside the house they broke down all the doors in the same way, robbed three expats in there, beat them quite a bit, and then took their car keys. They then drove the expats car out and parked beside my own and then attacked the next building. In this instance one of them simply climbed the wall and pointed a gun to the guard there and asked him to open the gate. Again they took me at gun point, this time with the security men from the first building and the present building, they marched us all in at gun point.

By this time very loud alarms had gone off from this house and neighboring houses and I was surprised that they seemed unperturbed. They took the hammer again, two big slams and the sliding door (and buglar proofing) gave way with a deafening crash and they entered the house. I was asked to lie down on the floor with the security men while they robbed the house. There was only one young girl in the house, she shouted that she had 200k on her, and gave it to them. They then took her into a room and ra.ped her, as she told us after the whole thing was over. 

It was while they where doing this in the room that all of a sudden they rushed out and began to seem agitated. They paced around the living room sounding agitated. Apparently the alarms had attracted the neighborhood security guards who came in a while pick up van. It had blinking lights on it and as such they probably thought it was the police. 

They all rushed out at once and you would not believe the gun fire that ensued. It was lengthy, horrible and deafening and we just lay on the floor praying for our lives. At some point I heard them speaking Yoruba saying that they must not forget that boy with the Land Cruiser o, make sure you bring him. I just stayed on the floor. Then there was silence.

After about five minutes of silence we all crept out of the house, the girl came out as well and told me that she had been ra.ped and that she and her fiance just rented the place that weekend in preparation for their wedding, and he only travelled to PH on business.

We went to the gate of the house and right there on the floor were two dead bodies. They had shot the security men dead and their pick up was riddled with bullets.

At that point neighbours began to come out and apparently the police were on their way. 

The robbers encountered the police in their escape and outgunned them, killing a police officer instantly in the process. That brought the death toll to four. 

Sometime later, the police arrived as though they were going for a war. Tanks, Armoured Personnel Carriers, more than a 100 policemen. Too much, too late. 

Later that morning, my car was found abandoned on the mainland, around Itire / Oshodi. I had used the neighbor's phones to call my family as soon as the robbers left: to my warm delight every single member of my family arrived the scene before five a.m, though they live very far away.

Now, my friends, I come to the reason I posted this story and you will find this quite shocking.

1. For all the huge numbers the police came with, there was ABSOLUTELY ZERO crime scene investigation. Those guys must have left loads of evidence and pointers in their reckless operation and the police just went inside, picked up a bag on the floor belonging to the lady I think, and some bullet shells on the floor. Within two minutes, their crime scene investigation was over.

2. My car, when found abandoned, was towed to a close-by Police Station. I went there that same morning to look at it. It was riddled with bullets as the robbers had engaged the police. Other than this, and the fact that they made away with the remote keys, there was nothing wrong with the car. 

Would you believe that by the time I returned two days later to tow the car away - right there in Police Custody, the car had been vandalized, and the brain box and all electronics removed? ? ? The Police said they know nothing about it. Not only this - they then insisted on being given "something" before releasing that car. They said that otherwise, the car will be retained as "evidence". . . or that there is a procedure, etc etc. People, can you believe this? ? ? ?

Now tell, me, if this is the same Police force that is addressing bigger issues like Boko Haram and others, what hope for security do we have in this country, save the grace of God?

What serious change can anyone expect from the Nigerian Police within, say the next fifty years even ? ? ? ?

This is the same way that we cannot expect serious change with Nepa or is it called PHCN. This is the way we cannot expect serious change with corruption. Because overall, both the government and the people lack the political will and thirst for change.

Someone once told me that all that Nigeria needs is for everyone to do the right thing. That, with respect, is a fantasy, and happens no where. What Nigeria needs is a vigorous, people led, determined and sustained revolution with a clear vision defined by strong revolutionary leaders. This needn't be violent: but must be sustained in terms of protest. And that change must start with a Sovereign National Conference. The National Assembly can't do it because they are an interested party: you don't expect them to place sensible legislation which would jeopardize their current millions, do you? 

Nigerians have become so used to misgovernance that we now have a twisted worldview which does not recognize "protestable" issues. We accept all the daily nonsense and impunity and simply go home, look for petrol or diesel, fill the gen, and have a good night's rest. Nothing else matters.

But in the Arab world, one man setting himself on fire in frustration led to the Arab Spring. 

Maybe I need to set myself on fire.

~ Senibo Bara-Hart ~