“At the onset of the night, I parked and locked my motorcycle by the roadside, and entered a shop. About 15 minutes later, I came out, looked for the motorcycle everywhere, but it was nowhere to be found.”
Those were the words of Kyefas Yaga, lamenting the current situation confronting motorcycle owners in Benue State.
Yaga’s Jincheng JC-110 motorcycle, popularly called ‘rubber rubber’, was stolen at about 7:30 pm on Saturday, July 24, along Barracks Road in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.
An average ‘Rubber rubber’ bike sales between N300,000 – N400,000 now.
He had parked his motorcycle to pick some things in a provision store by the roadside only for him to return and find his motorcycle missing, with no trace left behind.
The incidence of motorcycle theft has become a major cause of concern for residents of Makurdi, especially commercial motorcyclists and private motorcycle owners. This has impacted the victims’ sources of livelihood and mobility within the city.
The physical attacks that sometimes accompanied motorcycle theft in the city have resulted in injuries and deaths of the victims. And the persistent cases of motorcycle theft signify a state of insecurity and an indictment on the efficiency of the formal agents of social control, particularly the Police.
Evolving tactics
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE gathered that the criminals deploy several tactics in perpetuating their evil acts. While some forcefully seize the motorcycles from their owners at gunpoint, others disguise as passengers and snatched the victim’s motorcycle after they had been given a ride to their agreed destination.
“Oftentimes it is not a matter of carelessness on the part of motorcycle owners,” said Augustine Agber, a commercial motorcyclist who lost his motorcycle to the criminals recently. “The thieves have perfected their methods in such a way that they can easily compromise factory installed security systems on any motorcycle. They have master keys that help them to unlock any motorcycle in less than two minutes.”
It was also gathered that another tactic used by the thieves is to park a motorcycle of similar outlook next to their target.
“This is to confuse the potential victim, even if he is keeping an eye on his motorcycle, Ogah Samson,” a civil servant said. “The criminals will unlock the target motorcycle and ride-off leaving theirs behind. The victim will only discover his motorcycle is stolen when he is about to leave. When he starts to inspect curiously a motorcycle that was left behind to convince himself whether it is his, the owner, who is one of the accomplices, will come and ride it off.”
Another tactic is for the criminals to pick a motorcycle with another motorcycle, said Mathew, a commercial motorcyclist
“I parked and locked my ‘Okada’ to buy some snacks at the nearby shop, and before I came out of the shop, two men had parked their motorcycle beside mine, and were about to lift my motorcycle on top of theirs when I spotted them and raised alarm. They immediately pushed my motorcycle to the ground and ride-off,” he said.
But another victim, Terdue Orkuma, said not all motorcycles are stolen outside the owner’s house. “My motorcycle was stolen in my house along David Mark bye-pass, Makurdi while I was asleep, and only discovered it was missing the next morning,” he said. “The motorcycle was taken away quietly, probably the thieves pushed it away from the vicinity before igniting and rode-off.”
Booming markets for stolen motorcycles
A member of the Benue state chapter of Motorcycle Riders’ Association, Terseer David, said there is a thriving market for stolen motorcycles in neighbouring states.
“Once a motorcycle is stolen from Benue state, the criminal take it to one of the neighbouring states and sell it, mostly to spare part dealers who disassemble into unit parts and sell as ‘follow come’ or ‘direct Belgium’ parts,” he said.
“For a new brand of “rubber rubber” motorcycle, the market price is between N350,000 to N400,000. But when sold as a fairly use it goes for between N120,000 to N200,000. Sometimes, any amount given to them by the buyer is okay by them, if it is a stolen one.”
“The same applies to Bajaj and Honda brands mostly used for commercial purposes.”
David blamed the rising trend on the inability of security agencies to curtail criminal activities in the state.
The thieves’ growing confidence
A police officer at the D-Division, Markurdi, who craved anonymity said it is difficult for security operative to recover stolen motorcycles because many of them are not registered by their owner.
“Many motorcycle owners in the state use fake registration papers, which they procure at cheap rates,” he said. “This practice gives the motorcycle thieves confidence because they are aware that a lot of motorcycles are not officially registered. Hence, they often steal motorcycles and go an extra length to get them registered legally. Consequently, the rightful owner will not be able to trace such a motorcycle since it was not duly registered in the first place.”
We’re trying hard – Police
However, the spokesperson of the Benue State Police Command, Catherine Anene, said the command had tried “so hard” to curb the menace of motorcycle theft in the state through regular patrols within Makurdi Metropolis and the bigger towns in the state. She also said all suspects arrested are always charged to court for prosecution.”
“However, motorcyclists will have to cooperate with us by having regard for the rule of law. There is an Executive order placing restrictions on the movement of motorcycles from 8pm to 6am but they go about risking their lives at midnight.”
Anene also confirmed that most motorcycles in the state are not registered, which has made recovery difficult when stolen.
She, therefore, advised motorcycle owners to comply with the government’s directive to register their motorcycles.
