Published 14th Oct, 2022

By Adebola Adewara

On October 11, Promise Joseph Effiong, a Lagos State-based sales consultant, left her house in the morning hoping the day would bring her good fortune. Just like any other employee trying to get to work on time, Effiong boarded a Sienna vehicle at Alapere Bus Stop.

However, the moment the vehicle left the bus stop, the unthinkable happened and Effiong was forced to spend the rest of her stay in the car fighting for her dear life.

Narrating the incident to FIJ, Effiong said the driver of the vehicle suddenly changed the direction of the car when they got to Anthony Bus Stop.

IN THE MIDST OF ROBBERS

“The incident happened on Tuesday, October 11 between 6 am and 7:30 am. We were all at Alapere Estate Bus Stop trying to get buses to our work place,” she said.

“Then, a Toyota Sienna bus came along after we had waited for a while heading to the Island.

“When I boarded the Sienna bus, the vehicle had seven occupants (five men and two women) in it. The second woman who was also standing with me at the bus stop entered after me.”

Effiong said she immediately suspected something was wrong when the driver changed directions.

“While inside the vehicle, I noticed that the driver turned towards Anthony instead of the Third Mainland Bridge, which I was used to and I asked why but he ignored me,” Effiong said.

“All of a sudden, a male on the passenger’s seat in front came towards me and grabbed me by the neck. He began strangling me to the extent that I started choking and couldn’t breathe.

“As this was going on, the other male passengers, excluding the driver, pulled out knives and threatened to rape and kill me if I did not do as instructed.

“I was severely beaten and hit on my kneecaps with a wheel spanner. I was also punched in the face.”

THE TRANSFER OF MONEY TO DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS

Effiong said she was eventually forced to allow the men access to her phone and her bank app when the assault became unbearable.

“I was asked to give the password to my iPhone and then login details of my GTB app. Afterwards, I was asked to confirm how much I had in my account. I immediately gave them all they demanded,” she said.

“They then proceeded to making transfers from my account to different accounts after I gave them my transfer PIN. The first transfer was N2,200,000, followed by N1,000,000 and then N500,000 and another N1,000,000.”

“All through the period they made the transfers, the vehicle was still in motion. The men choking and pressing me down did not also release their grips me. They also placed their bags on me so I would not be able to draw people’s attention. “

“They collected N4,700,000, which was all my life savings and money belonging to friends and family entrusted to me. I also lost my two phones, an iPhone XSmax and a small Nokia phone,” Effiong said amid tears.

“After they were done with the transactions, they made calls to their partners outside to confirm the receipt of the transfers.

“The other woman was also beaten and pushed out of the vehicle after they confirmed she had only N15,000.

“I was later asked to choose between having acid or having aboniki balm mixed with pepper rubbed in my eyes before I could be let out and I chose the aboniki option. They rubbed the balm aggressively into my eyes.

“They then dropped me off at Abule Onigbagbo bus stop in Maryland, lkeja. I immediately sought for help from one passer-by who was kind enough to lend me a phone so I can reach out to my family.”

Effiong added that she reported the incident to the police and was later advised to go for treatment at a hospital.

A CRY FOR HELP

Effiong also told FIJ how she contacted GT Bank customer care desk on the same day to lodge a complaint.

“I complained at my bank and they told me they would write to the other banks the monies were transferred to, so that recipient accounts could be restricted.

“This morning, I got a message from FCMB that they had restricted one of the accounts a part of the money was sent to.

“I don’t know how true the message is because I am yet to retrieve my money. While trying to access my email today, I also realised my email account had been hacked.

“I am in dire need. I am just a young lady trying legitimately hard to make a living and make my family proud. I just want to get my money and other valuables back because this is too much a pain for me to bear.”

The police haven’t been of much help, either, as they are asking for money for court order to kick-start their intervention.

Further investigation carried out by FIJ showed that some of the account names the funds were sent to belonged to Lawrence Clement Udo, Olabode Alade Hamed, Adeniyi Olusanya and Akinluwa Oluwabusayo.

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