THE GANG OF DIABOLICAL ROBBERS

Very many years ago, I recall an experience I had which has now proven to be an unforgettable one. I was perhaps in my early teens back then. I had a passion for two things: computers and my Catholic Faith. I remember clearly going to a computer centre (cybercafé) to while away time before going to the Church. I stood on the road waiting for a taxi, several of them passed and they were all full. I thought of trekking all the way to the junction where the vehicles usually gather to load passengers but there was not enough time for me so I continued waiting.

Luckily for me, there was one taxi with exactly three passengers already. I was happy, here comes my ride. As I waved towards it, I noticed they passed me at first only to clear out of the road at some distance. I went towards the taxi and asked in the usual fashion: “Ring Road?” The driver said: “Enter.” I did. Although this was years ago, I still remember I saw a very old man at the edge of the back seat with another man in his early forties, then there was a woman in the front seat. I became the third passenger at the back seat. It wasn’t long before the vehicle stopped to pick up another man along the road.

Then the conversation started! The driver started complaining seriously that when he picked up the last passenger, he checked his boot and noticed that there was a bag full of dollars and that he would be in trouble if he had been stopped by the police. The old man immediately owned up that he was the owner of the bag and that he was running away from his boss who had just died but that his boss was an extremely rich person so he along with other workers in the house had to loot what they were capable of taking before family members would show up.

The other members of the vehicle started commenting on the fact that the old man had put us all in trouble and so we were all going to share in the money. I was the only person who was quiet all through. At this point in my life, I had only seen dollars on the internet and in movies, I had never even owned more than five thousand naira before. I kept looking at them. Then the Old man said that he would allow everyone to share in the money but he suspects that his boss was not clean. As soon as he said this, the other passengers including the driver said: “That one is no big deal, we shall urinate on the money and by so doing nullify any demonic connection on it.” In fact, the driver suggested that we all go to a particular house immediately for sharing.

As much as I was excited at the possibility of becoming a rich man instantly with my share of the bag of a million dollars, I remembered that I was on my way to Church when I boarded the vehicle. This is where God sent His Angel to rescue me. All of a sudden, I told the driver, “Stop me. I want to come down here!” Even as I uttered these words, it didn’t seem as if they were coming out from my lips. The driver asked me repeatedly: “You want to come down?” I said: “Stop me here now!” As I kept repeating the words “stop me here” my intonation continued to rise. The other passengers looked at me one after the other and I looked back at them eye to eye. The driver angrily pulled the vehicle over and said: “Come down!” He didn’t even ask for the fare.

I came down from the vehicle smiling and happy as though I had just won a trophy yet deep within me, I felt I had lost an opportunity to make my family rich. I was still too young to understand what had just happened. There was still a long distance between where I had asked them to drop me and the church I was going. I jogged all the way and went into the Church. I told myself that I would never share this experience with my classmates in secondary school (minor seminary). I felt that by telling them how I walked away from the million-dollar vehicle (even though I never saw the bag or the money with my eyes), they would laugh at me and call me names.

Back in the day, we (youth) always did things to prove to one another that we were rich, connected and superior. Reflecting back now at the games we played on each other to gain self-respect just makes me laugh. Some of us who came from very poor families would lie to others that we were just too rich in our families and we would create all kinds of stories to intimidate others. I was yet to study Philosophy and did not know how to engage in critical thinking (logic) so it was very easy for me to believe everything I was told.

Months and even years passed and I would always ask myself: “What would have happened if I didn’t come down from that vehicle?” I imagined returning home that day with some bundles of dollars and my dad would proclaim a feast. I also imagined how he would first beat me up and tell me to return it before I would now tearfully confess that I had not stolen it but I was smart enough to enter the right vehicle. I never imagined that I would have been a victim of crime ranging from kidnapping, broad daylight robbery, hypnotism or even money rituals. It is only after hearing of the experiences of others (being a priest today) that I realize it was purely by Divine intervention that I came out unhurt and untouched from that vehicle. I never knew I had boarded a one-chance-vehicle.

The shocking truth is that this diabolic business is very much active and rife today. With every story I hear from victims, I realize they keep upgrading their techniques like android apps are upgraded every now and then. I also realize that the number of vehicles involved in this demonic business continue to increase every day.

Not too long ago, a driver who was sent to collect some items from me fell victim. According to him, the moment he entered the vehicle, he forgot himself completely. He gave one of the men his ATM card and told him the password. The vehicle stopped at a bank and the man withdrew all the money he had and returned the card to him. Then he said “Thank you”. It wasn’t until he had come out of the vehicle that he regained his senses.”

A woman told him how she had gathered her entire sales from the market and was on her way to the bank to pay in the money so that they would bring more goods from her from Lagos only for her to board one of such vehicles. She opened her bag and gave them everything, she even gave them her phone and her wallet. She said she felt like giving them her earrings and her shoes until one of them told her it is okay. She said she was so excited giving them these things until they asked her to come out of the car saying they had reached her destination. When she came out and saw the bank, she remembered her self again and burst into tears.

The one I heard today which motivated me to write this piece was heartbreaking. A nineteen-year-old girl living with her grandmother fell into the hands of these diabolical thieves. In her case, they first took her to a particular house where they told her about a precious stone and how she was going to get it. Then they asked her if her grandmother had any money and she said yes. They then drove her to her house and waited at the gate.

She came out of the car, entered the house and ransacked the entire house for everything of value she could find. She gathered them into a bag. Her grandmother confronted her but she lied saying she was looking for something she lost. Her grandmother did not even suspect her because she had never stolen or lied since her mother brought her as a one-month-old baby. When she was leaving with the bag, her grandfather saw her and asked where she was going and she lied that she was going to pay the “keke” driver who brought her. She took the bag, gave it to gang of robbers who then asked her to go and get sand. As soon as she left to get the sand, the vehicle drove off and she realized herself.

Dear friends, you may have heard similar stories. These people operate everywhere. I would end by sharing some tips on how not to fall victim to these vicious criminals.

1. Prayer is the key. Pray at all times. Call on God before you leave the house or board a vehicle. If possible, carry a bottle of holy water with you and sprinkle it on the vehicle you intend to enter as discreetly as possible.

2. Try as much as you can to board a vehicle only at the main park and check very well to be sure that it is actually a commercial vehicle.

3. Do not partake in any conversation in the vehicle until you come down. If possible, the moment a conversation begins to form around the subject matter of money, gold or treasures stolen or found, come down immediately. Know that once you are inside a commercial vehicle, anything can happen. Be on guard. Watch out for cues that the driver may be colluding with other passengers in the vehicle.

4. Be strong in your Christian Faith. Be a prayerful person. Keep God’s commandments. Don’t just listen to the word and deceive yourself. Practice God’s word in your daily life. Avoid Greed. Don’t take or envy what is not yours. God has told us that by the labour of our hands, we would eat. Not by luck or taking advantage of others.

Perhaps these tips are not exhaustive. Feel free to add yours as you share and inform others. I continue to pray for you. May you never fall victim or be deceived by such a gang of diabolical robbers and may the blessings of Almighty God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit come upon all who read this piece both now and forever. Amen.

Fr. Abu