Traffic Robbery and Victimisation in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Abstract

This paper discusses strategies used by traffic robbers to dispossess unsuspecting motorists during traffic congestion in Lagos state, Nigeria. Traffic robbery has been a serious problem in the Lagos metropolis for many years. Recently, there has been an increased number of attacks on motorists and commuters who are stuck in traffic jams. Yet, studies on urban crimes in Lagos are yet to analyse the experiences of victims of traffic robbery. The nexus between time and space, which has significantly influenced the occurrence of robbery in Lagos traffic, has also been under-discussed. Routine activity theory is utilised to account for the experiences of victims of traffic robbery. The methodology of media monitoring and content analysis is utilised by analysing 167 traffic robbery cases reported in five various newspapers, namely: Vanguard, Tribune, Punch, The Guardian, and The Sun in Lagos State from 2015 to 2023. Newspaper key search word, ‘‘traffic robbery,’’ was used to gather data from the selected newspapers. The responses of victims, as derived from their experiences, were used qualitatively to analyse the data. The findings show that victims’ experiences were horrific, fear-driven, and pose mental health issues. It also reveals that timing is a crucial factor in understanding incidences of traffic robberies, as most violent crimes in Lagos traffic occurred between 9 p.m. and 11p.m. Traffic robbers use guns, knives, bottles, and charms as instruments to instigate fear in drivers and commuters, and dispossess them of their valuables. The conclusion of the paper is that more security presence is needed to curb traffic robbery in areas in Lagos prone to the crime.