A Port Harcourt resident, Kelvin Inikio, has narrated how he was allegedly robbed and assaulted by suspected one-chance operators after boarding a commercial mini bus in the city.
Inikio said the incident occurred around 7 p.m. on Friday after he boarded a bus at Rumuosi, heading to Igbo-Etche.
According to him, three men were already inside the tricycle when he boarded, but he did not suspect that anything was wrong.
He said the situation changed as they approached Rumuokoro, when one of the men moved closer to him and allegedly pulled out a gun.
The suspects, he alleged, demanded his ATM card, searched his bag and collected about N5,000 in cash.
“They took my ATM card. They asked me for my phone, but I told them I didn’t have one. They asked how much money I had, and I said I didn’t have anything. They scattered my bag and took the little money I had with me,” he recounted.
Inikio said he was also assaulted during the incident and sustained injuries.
He later discovered that the suspects had allegedly used his ATM card to carry out online transactions through SportyBet, resulting in the loss of the money in his bank account.
“It was when I got to the house that I noticed they used my ATM to do online transactions. I don’t know the transaction, but I saw that it was on SportyBet. The money in my account was gone,” he said.
He added that a woman later gave him N2,000, which enabled him to make a transfer and get home.
He called on the government and security agencies to take urgent steps to curb the growing menace of “one-chance” operators in the city.
The call comes as the Rivers State Police Command paraded suspected “one-chance” operators arrested across the state, assuring residents of its commitment to protecting lives and property.
This followed a protest by concerned residents over the activities of the operators and the growing insecurity associated with their activities.
