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| Esther Egbe |
Esther Egbe, a reporter with National Daily newspaper recently had what she described as her first baptism of fire in the journalism profession.
She was robbed in the most curious and unusual manner by persons suspected to be one chance robbers, operating on a commercial bus, popularly known as Danfo, as she returning from office around Ikeja, in Lagos.
Egbe said that last week Thursday at about 8pm, she was waiting for a bus to convey her from Ikeja bus-stop to Maryland, where she could link- up Mende, where she stays.
Suddenly, a danfo bus, with four passengers, appeared from nowhere, closely followed by a red jeep from behind and “Politely beckoned on me to enter the bus, which I did,” said Egbe.
That action appeared to be her greatest undoing, as she said that immediately she boarded, one of the men, who wore a tee-shirt with an MTN identity card, began to chat with me, creating the impression that he was interested in dating her.
From Ikeja bus-stop, the driver of the bus drove to Kingsway and on getting to the bus-stop, decided to drive into Ikeja GRA on the excuse that there was too much traffic jam along the Bank Anthony way, even as the jeep was also following from behind, she recounted.
Egbe said: “Inside the GRA, I became suspicious as the driver was driving past the dark streets, while the other occupants were chatting happily and I was praying silently and hoping for divine intervention.
“As at the point, I had the intuition that the occupants of the bus were dare-devil armed robbers!”
“As at the point, I had the intuition that the occupants of the bus were dare-devil armed robbers!”
Her intuition was confirmed when at a point after getting to the Ojota end of Maryland, she was ordered by the guy that was chatting with her to cooperate or she would be killed after identifying herself as a journalist.
“The guy snatched my bag, ransacked it, removed my N20, 000, blackberry and also asked me to give him my watch, necklace and other personal items with me.
“While the incident was taking place, the driver of the jeep was playing music loudly in order not to attract attention,” Egbe said.
But, the curious angle to the whole story began when her ATM card was discovered by the suspected robbers inside her bag.
But, the curious angle to the whole story began when her ATM card was discovered by the suspected robbers inside her bag.
“There and then, I think one of the robbers drew the attention of the occupier of the jeep and I was ordered to give the them my personal identification number or risk being killed.
“Afraid for my life, I was left with no other options at that point than to divulge my PIN to the robbers, who immediately pulled up at an ATM machine point around Ikorodu road and cleared my account of N120,000.
After the show, which according to the journalist lasted for about two hours ended, they dropped her at Palm Groove bus-stop, while the robbers zoomed off towards Ojuelegba route.
“I have to get police report on the incident in order to enable my bank place embargo on the ATM card, even as I am presently nursing my pains and counting my loses since that traumatic incident occurred,” she said.
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