The Police and other security agencies have been urged to curb the ugly growing trend of robbers posing as Keke riders to rob unsuspecting passengers and others in Elelenwo town in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers state.
Thescale.com.ng investigations revealed that some criminally minded youths in Elelenwo, a suburb of Port Harcourt, the state capital now pose as tricycle riders to rob their victims.
The checks also showed that this ugly trend is new and fast growing in the community that if not promptly nipped in the bud could result into full scale notorious criminal activities.
One lady, simply known as Anna narrated her ordeal in the hands of these boys when she spoke to our Correspondent.
According to her, on her way from the bank few days ago, she unsuspectedly boarded a Keke and on getting to Rumuokrushi, at the middle of the flyover, this criminal Keke rider abruptly stopped and forcefully took away her handbag which contained N500,000 she collected from the bank for her POS business, pushed her out of the Keke and zoomed off.
Her case is not an isolated one because other residents of the community confirmed the trend and added that it occurs weekly, if not daily.
Another lady who spoke anonymously told this publication that most of these criminal boys are well known around and within the community and even to security operatives in the area because they are often arrested and released immediately, which boldens them in their criminal acts.
In an exclusive chat with Thescale.com.ng, Chairman of Keke Riders Union, Elelenwo Central Mosque Unit, Comrade Murtala Mohammed exonerated his members because in their unit, intending members are profiled by security agencies with a reliable guarantor before admission.
He added that all their members have identification numbers for easy identification and tracking and urged security operatives to arrest the trend, because, according to him, “they are the only ones with the capacity to do so.”