Residents raise the alarm as hoodlums return to Lagos-Ibadan Long Bridge
Respite is not in sight for motorists and commuters plying the Long Bridge, Ogun State end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, as hoodlums have continued to launch attacks on users of the road.
PUNCH Metro learnt that despite efforts by the police and the surrounding communities to end the scourge, including hiring vigilantes and installing solar-powered lights on the bridge, robbers still found means of dispossessing people of their valuables.
The Long Bridge is a five-kilometre bridge stretching from the Warewa end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to the OPIC/Kara end of the road.
Hoodlums have been known to hide under the bridge and attack people after their vehicles break down or there is a traffic jam, especially at night and early in the morning.
After robbing their victims, they sometimes club others and leave them for dead.
Some others have been kidnapped on the bridge, including a bus driver, Ahmed Adepoju, who was abducted on March 5, 2021, after his vehicle broke down.
Our correspondent gathered that the usual victims were residents of the host communities of Arepo, Warewa, Banku, Mokore, Arigbede and Magboro.
A resident, who shared his experience on his estate security platform, said his wife was attacked in broad daylight last Tuesday after her vehicle broke down.
He said, “My wife was attacked on the Long Bridge in broad daylight around 1.30pm when her vehicle had a little hitch right in the middle of the bridge.
“She actually had a fuel gauge problem and so didn’t know when her fuel ran out. She was lucky to get a known face from Aribido with a motorcycle, who helped her to buy fuel.
“As fate would have it, as soon as the fuel was poured into the tank and the engine started, out of nowhere, some Fulani herdsmen (from her description), appeared and one opened the driver’s side door and lunged at her with a dagger, trying to stab her. Thank God for his goodness, she said she didn’t know how she dodged the descending knife by mere inches and stepped on the throttle at the same time as she sped off to safety. She didn’t stop until she got to Matrix fuel station before she could get herself together and catch her breath.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that the writer craved anonymity for security reasons.
Another resident said there had been an influx of some people from a particular region of the country, who were settling around the Pipeline Road, Unity Estate, Arepo.
He said the migrants posed security threats. Punch
