-As heavy Rainfall Intensifies with Nightmare of Flooding
A former Representative of Montserrado County, Mrs. Josephine George Francis is one of several residents in the suburb of Monrovia who are panic over an upsurge of armed robbery in recent week.
Mrs. Francis told the local Truth FM radio via mobile phone on Monday that that armed robbers over the weekend raided homes of peaceful residents in the eastern suburb of Kingsville over the weekend, taking away valuables.
For the past several weeks in Monrovia and its rural settlements of Paynesville, Duala, Waterside and Rally Time Market areas continue to encounter shockwave of armed robbery activities.
Other areas of such suspected crime activities include and not limited to as Soul Clinic, Wood Camp, Morris Farm and fringes of West Point as well as Gobachop Market at Red-Light commercial hub.
According to crime analysts, suspected armed robbers normally stepped up their activities during heavy downpour of rains.
Besides, the crime analysts indicated that several of such crime activities also occurred during late hours of the night when occupants of many homes are normally sound asleep after a day of hard work and other tiresome activities.
Over the weekend, several homes and business entities in the Soul Clinic and Wood Camp communities were allegedly hit and many household items including money were made away by the suspected armed robbers.
The affected residents of the two communities told the Tuesday in separate interviews that during the onslaught by the suspected armed robbers, efforts were made by them to contact several police depots for assistance.
Moreover, crime related stories being narrated by affected residents and business owners also point to the glaring attitude of impunity being allegedly demonstrated by the current administrations of security agencies.
But, regrettably, officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP) arrived on the crime scenes when the suspected armed robbers had already escaped with their looted and stolen household items and money.
The residents also noted that responses from the LNP officers from the various depots and stations had not yielded tangible results as the suspected armed robbers continue to inflict grave consequences on the vulnerable homes and business outfits in the two communities in Paynesville.
“We are grateful however, the LNP officers have made some arrests but, sadly, some of the suspected armed robbers are seen few days later in our communities and we are on some occasions threatened by them,” Resident Thomas B. Dukulue lamented.
The residents further pointed out that while they are contending with the nightmare of flood water in the two crime prone communities, the suspected armed robbers continue to rain havocs on their lives and properties.
Around the famous Gobachop Market an offshoot of the greater Red-Light business center, residents claimed that, more than a dozen ghettos have been established and small business Liberians that reside there continue to live in perpetual fear and frustration.
For the densely populated communities of Duala and Waterside commercial hubs, business people and residents intimated that the frequency of armed robberies had double as the heavy rains continue in that part of Monrovia and its environs.
There have been urgent calls and appeals from some residents to the central administration of the LNP to design new strategies that will help combat the shockwave of armed robberies.
The residents and business people also explained that the suspected armed robbers on many occasions take advantage of densely populated and clustered communities to carry out their notorious activities.
“We want better and a well-coordinated approach on the part of our LNP officers and other related security agencies in all of us efforts to beat back the suspected criminals in our communities,” Pharmacist Sam B. Samuakai stressed.