The crime rate around the world has skyrocketed due to a lot of factors, and even though new technology is being developed to curb such acts, we've come to see these evil perpetrators also invent new methods to beat the system. The vicinity where I reside has a bad history of crime, although it has subsided, yet walking at night isn't advisable. This article explains why and also talks about the crime rate in my vicinity.
Image designed here
I stay in the Epe area of Lagos State, and generally speaking, it's a peaceful area to stay compared to the tussle and hustle that most other parts of Lagos are known for. Being a peaceful place doesn't mean it has no crime; instead, what I'm insinuating is that, while Lagos is known for being a home of crime and unrest, EPE is much different, even though it has its own lapses.
Like I said earlier, this wasn't really the case here a few years ago. This I can say because this was the same place I stayed during my university days, and I know how insecure both lives and prosperity used to be due to how armed robbery and petty thieves operated then. One such case that made this obvious was a few years ago.
The church I attended held a fundraiser to help the church purchase some musical instruments like microphones, their stands, speakers, guitars, pianos, and several others, to mention but a few. Not long after that, those gadgets were purchased, and within two weeks after the purchase of the equipment, some burglars broke into the church and carted away everything.
Image by kat wilcox on pexels
It was a painful pill to swallow for the entire church, but with a mindset to have this instrument, funds were raised again to purchase the instrument, which was then chained to the pillar of the church. Unfortunately for us, these evil burglars still came in to steal everything once again. From then on, we all just gave up on getting any instrument, and anything purchased was usually taken to the homes of church workers in order to keep it safe.
Fast forward to the present day, and things aren't as they used to be anymore. One reason is probably because two police stations have been built in my vicinity. I guess that singular act helps reduce the crime rate in my vicinity, but if you remember in the first paragraph of this article, I said we ain't still free to walk in the night. Below is why that is so:
The Epe axis of Lagos is a place where about 90% of its indigenous people are traditional worshippers. That being said, it would be well understood by Nigerians or anyone conversant with black magic or supernatural powers that most of these traditional worshippers usually organize some curfew in the night that states that no one is allowed outside within the duration stated, and whoever disobeys such an order might pay with their lives.
Image by Alex wolf mx on pexels
Because of such a curfew and the history of the indigenous people, it has now become common to have the street go empty anytime from 9 p.m. upward. This is somewhat odd because if you were to visit other places in Lagos like Ajegunle, you wouldn't be able to tell the time because the street is always lively, even at 3 a.m.
So in a nutshell, my vicinity is not really crime-free, but it's much better compared to other parts of Lagos. In fact, since I relocated back here one year ago, I've only had one robbery or burglary, and that was the one that happened in my workplace, where some electricity cables and windows were stolen. Yes, you read that correctly; they stole a window from a building in my workplace. I'm still at a loss as to what they'll do with it.
That's all on the crime rate in my vicinity, and the article was inspired by the hive learners community features prompt; more information about the prompt can be found in this post.
Thanks for your time, have a wonderful weekend.