The people of Akure, especially in the Akure metropolis are calling on the state government and security agencies to provide a lasting solution to the high increase in street urchins popular called 419 or street fraudsters.
Some of the victims who spoke with dailyfamily.ng in Akure the Ondo state capital said the street urchins always carry out their scam business along Cathedral, Oja-Oba market down to wema bank axis.
One of the victims who shared her experience in the hands of the street scammers with our reporter said one of the scammers approached her under the pedestrian bridge at the popular Oja-Oba market and ask for a direction to YEM-KEMI office.
“I was standing under the Oja-Oba bridge when a young man walked up to me and ask the direction to YEM-KEMI office that he is not familiar with Akure town.
“As he was talking another man moved closer to us and said, sister, this man has herbs of five million naira that he wants to sell to YEM-KEMI and if I can follow him to locate the place my commission will be one million naira.
“So I followed them to where the herbs are, on getting there, we met one old man who said I should stand on a stone, immediately I stood on the stone, the stone disappeared.
“The old man told me that the stone has entered my body that they will need 100 thousand naira to remove the stone, they collected my ATM card and ask for my pin code and they withdraw all the money in my account.
Some of the victims said the street urchins are using Juju, the victim said the activities of the street urchins are not ordinary. They advise the public to be careful of people they engaged in conversations with along the road.
In his response, the Police Public Relations officer Ondo State Command Mr Femi Joseph told Dailyfamily.ng that the police are much aware of the presence of the street urchins in Akure metropolis.
” We are aware of the presence of these street urchins in Akure metropolis and we have taken many strategies to ensure that they are checkmated.
The PPRO said the challenges they are facing most time is that when the street urchins are caught the victims will not take pains of following the cases to logical conclusion.
” when you pick somebody along the road and you said you suspected the person and brought him to the police station, it does not end there.
” the victims must let the police know if such person is actually linked to the particular case.
“Most times when we interviewed such people, they tell us they are there on their legitimate businesses and they we said they have freedom of movement.
Mr Joseph who said since the police cannot link them to a particular case, it is very difficult to prosecute them.
“They cannot be regarded as thieves, if you are talking about thieves, they might have stolen something, the street urchins are not thieves because they have not stolen anything or pickpocketing anything when they are there, they have freedom of movement.
Mr Joseph, advice the public to always be on their guards and watch the activities of the street urchins if they can be pin down with some crimes.
Also speaking with dailyfamily.ng, the Publics Relationship of Nigeria Civil Defence Corps Ondo State Command, Mr Kayode Balogun who said they have many cases of those street urchins.
” We have many cases and reports of these street urchins in Akure metropolis, especially at Cathedral, Oja-Oba and We ma bank axis, disturbing people by dumping them.
” in most cases when we heard about their suspicious movement, our men we swing into actions and get them arrested, but the point is after getting them arrested, the real complainant will not show face to tell us they have been duped by the street urchins.
“At times after keeping them in our custody for sometimes we will release them but if there is need to charge them to court for prosecution we will charge them to court.
Mr Balogun who said the people can be regarded as criminals because Nigeria constitution is against anybody who forcefully collected something from another person,
He said anybody caught in respect of that will be charged to court.
In his own opinion, Barrister Ajibola E. Kayode said the freedom of liberty or movement of the street urchins can be tempered with if there is any suspicious
movement.
” the principle of law is that upon reasonable suspicion of a crime been committed by anybody, the police can arrest and prosecute that person by the virtue of section 4 of police act who gave the police the power to carry out such arrest.
” people who are moving freely on the street doing their normal legitimate businesses cannot be arrested, however, if there is any suspicious in that free movement such person or persons have committed crime and if police have reasonable grand of suspecting him or her having committed crimes or in the act of committing the crime, the police have the power by the virtue of that section 4 of the police act to arrest the person.
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