By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
Cases of women losing their handbags to thieves appear to increase at the NTA Road axis of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Capital.
Some residents of the area informed TPCN on Saturday, that no week passes without somebody complaining of a snatched handbag by hoodlums.
According to the residents, the thieves usually target women who travel early in the morning or go to the bush market between 4:30 and 5:30 a.m.
They claimed that the thieves always disguise as responsible individuals to deceive their unsuspecting victims, only to strike at the slightest opportunity they get.
Narrating the ordeal, a female fruit seller along NTA Road said, “They may be trekking along the same road with you, carrying their travelling bag so that you will think that they are responsible people who are travelling,”
“You will even relax and be happy that you have another person travelling like you who can be a good company that early in the morning only for you to have your handbag snatched the moment he gets close to you.
“The moment they snatch the bag, they will start running, and you can only shout.”
Asked if she knew of any person whose bag had been snatched along the road, she answered in the affirmative, adding: “They did it to my friend’s sister like two months ago. She wanted to go and enter a taxi at that junction near Obiri Ikwerre. It was around 5:30 a.m.
“People were already on the road, but everybody was in a hurry as it was still morning. The man was also trekking fast as if he was also travelling. When he got close to the girl, he just drew the bag with force and ran. The girl started shouting but they could not catch him because it was morning.”
Another lady who resides at the Mgbuoba axis of the NTA Road also complained of the ongoing cases of handbag dragging along the road. The lady, who identified herself as Rose, said about two women had their bags snatched by thieves last week.
According to her, “This thing used to happen between Location and that Obiri Ikwerre side. Last week alone, two women’s bags were snatched.
“One woman who they snatched her bag on Tuesday was going to Aba to buy something. The thieves were in a car, about three of them. They did as if they wanted to carry the woman. They slowed down and asked her if she was going to Rumuokwuta. And she said no, that she was going to Rumuola to enter Aba motor. The next thing, they dragged her bag and took off. The woman started shouting. Before people gathered, they had disappeared.
“That is what is happening in this place, especially that Location to NTA side with Obiri Ikwerre. We don’t use to go out very early again. That morning I saw that woman as she was crying.”
On what she thinks should be the solution to the frequent cases of handbag snatching in the area, Rose said: “The government people should help us. They should be sending police patrol to this NTA Road, especially at night and early in the morning. This thing happens very early in the morning.
“Maybe they can also bring security people like OSPAC to that side. But women should also stop travelling very early in the morning to avoid this kind of thing,” she added.
