The residents of Mararaba, in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, have attributed the increase in criminality and nuisance at Mararaba Junction to trading and begging on the pedestrian bridge.
Some of the respondents told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday that the increase in nuisance and all manners of criminalities resulted from the activities on the bridge
According to them, most of the touts, suspected criminals, specialised in snatching bags, phones and drug addiction took refuge on the bridge after carrying out there acts.
One of the respondents, Mrs Ladi Bitrus, a resident of Aso Pada, Mararaba said the Mararaba Junction pedestrian bridge had become a crime zone.
According to her, it is a hideout whenever they commit a crime like theft because they know their victims cannot run in their pace up to the bridge.
Similarly, Mr Adamu Tanko, a trader at Mararaba Market, said the way the pedestrian bridge was congested with hawkers, beggers and ‘Indian Hemp ‘ smokers, made it difficult to identify a suspect.
He added that most criminals disguised as hawkers or even the beggers, stood there and monitored ongoing activities around the junction in order to spot their victims.
Tanko suggested that the police and other security outfits who were always at the junction, should be intensified and extended to top of the bridge with more strictness.
A student and passerby, Miss Roseline Madaki, also stated her fears of using the pedestrian bridge.
“Using that bridge is the last thing I will do. I had a terrible encounter the last time I used it, think four years ago when military men were still forcing pedestrians to use it.
“I noticed two rough guys followed me, so I held my handbag very tight but unknown to me, they had already picked my phone from my pocket,” Madaki said.
Also, Tony Danjuma, a businessman, said the pedestrian bridge was rather helping nuisance, which had made the purpose of the bridge insignificant.
He emphasised the need for thorough cleansing, saying the smell emanating from the pedestrian bridge could give someone disease.
Another trader, Mrs Susanna Lawal, popularly called “Iya Lati”, while lamenting, said most people around had adjusted and were now used to the nuisance and the criminal activities.
She said the activities of hawkers and beggers on the bridge had lingered for more than 10 years.
According to her, she always advised her customers to try and avoid the pedestrian bridge, because two years ago, her customer had a bad encounter with bad boys there.
A civil servant, Onyi Joseph, told NAN that the way the bridge had been turned into begging and hawking activities called for emergency.
He pleaded with the state and local government to intervene, saying it was an eyesore and had rendered the bridge useless.
However, a motorist, Aliyu Bala, sees nothing wrong in hawkers and beggers occupying the bridge, saying it is better than them being on the road, obstructing motorists and passengers.
Mararaba Junction is the most popular and busiest bus-stop in Karu Local Government Area.
It is an area densely populated, where most FCT workers were resident because of proximity to Abuja. (NAN)
