Nigeria: The Hajj Camp Robbery

10 December 2006
editorial

Lagos — The robbery that took place last week at the Hajj Camp within the International Wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos, has for the umpteen time, exposed the pitiable state of security in the country. And that it occurred at the the main gateway into the country and in an area with three police stations is, to put it mildily, embarassing.

The details of the banditry, though familiar, are chilling. In a commando-like operation, about 30 robbers invaded the bureaux de change at the camp, heralded by siren at about 1a.m. on that fateful day. Armed with sophisticated weapons, large volume of ammunitions and welding equipment, they broke into the treasury of the bureaux and, for four hours, looted all the currencies they could find. N150 million was then carted away. All the police did was to wait till the bandits left the scene of brigandage before arriving to take inventory of the destruction and theft!

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