By Kingsley Omonobi
Of the myriad unpleasant things that occur daily in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, none unsettles residents as much as a negative phenomenon that has come to define the town’s ecosystem.
Like a bad omen, the tragedy foisted on the city is ingeniously captured as ‘One Chance’ by evil merchants who use privately owned vehicles to cause havoc.
Under this well-organised crime ring, the daredevils typically pose as genuine commercial vehicle operators, lining up the sprawling roads as innocent and hardworking commercial drivers seeking passengers to ferry safely to their destinations for an agreed fee. But that is only a facade that has often taken many commuters into their early graves. They are fake drivers on the prowl seeking to deceive and lure victims into their dens for either ransom or other pecuniary reasons. Many female victims have not been lucky to return safely from the grip of the villains to tell their stories of torture, rape and organ-harvesting.
‘One Chance’ implies that the vehicle will proceed to the desired location once the last passenger boards. Commuters, often desperate to find vehicles—especially during rush hours when vehicles are thinning due to the high cost of fuel, purchase, and maintenance—are lured to board these vehicles in large numbers. It is a simple demonic trick that has worked perfectly for the perpetrators and terminated the lives and future of many of those who fall victim to the merchants of deaths.
