“How I almost lost my life to phone thieves”, 3 lessons you must learn that can save you and your smartphone from thieves especially if you do not have a mobile tracker installed!
It happened on the 18th of January 2021, which was supposed to be one of the happiest days in my life. After sitting at home for close to three years of not getting any good job, I was offered a position a week before this said date in Lekki, Lagos.
Of course, who won’t jump on such an opportunity?
My resumption date was this particular Monday. By the way, I reside in Ipaja, which is several miles from the Island, and required that I left my house as early as 4.30 am, this was to ensure I beat the Lagos usual traffic and get to work as early as possible.
Dressed in a well-tailored suit and nice shoe, I got to the popular Iyana-Ipaja bus stop just some minutes before 5 am, it was my first time going to the Island from the Ipaja axis of Lagos, so I didn’t know which part of the bus stop I would see buses heading to the Island
As I was trying to find my way, I had to move from one side of the park to the other to check if I would find a bus heading to Lekki, I needed to move between two buses that were packed close to one another. As I made my way between these buses, I noticed a young man was coming quickly towards me from the opposite direction
It was pitch dark, except for an occasional beam of light from headlamps of vehicles moving on the main road, so I couldn’t perfectly see this young man. My instinct kicked in and I wanted to quickly move away from these buses, but he was faster than me. Within the blink of an eye, the man, who I pictured would be in his late twenties was blocking my exit.
He had such a huge figure, 7ft plus. What was, even so, peculiar about this strange guy was the ooze of the odour coming out of his body like that of a man who just came from a dunghill.
“Bring out your phone now,” the tout said in pidgin English
The voice was deep, loud, and terrorizing.
“Not today”! No one is taking this phone from me today” so I thought in my head looking quickly for a way to escape.
I immediately turned back and made for the second exit in my bid to escape the robbery that was about to take place. Sadly for me, it was my first experience of being confronted by touts or being robbed. I was not so sure of what to do or what not to do.
Unfortunately for me, I didn’t know he wasn’t alone, his other colleagues had gone round the vehicle to block my second exit. That was how I ran it into their waiting hands.
Before I knew what was going on, they started kicking me and landed heavy blows on my stomach; they accused me of trying to escape. Perhaps, if I had known better, I would never have tired such in the first place. I was beaten to a pulp.
They took my laptop bag, with my laptop, collected my phone and even my wallet.
I had no other choice than to pray to God silently that they should just take whatever they want and leave, When the beating got to a point, I had to beg them. They got more infuriated and one of them brought out a sharp object and stabbed me in my stomach.
Then they left!
I was stabbed!
I could touch blood guzzling out of the wound, and I managed to drag myself to where people were standing where I explain to other passengers that I have just been robbed and stabbed.
Let me tell you the truth, I had already thought I would die that day. I was eventually taken to a hospital, doctors told me I was lucky enough as the sharp object didn’t cut any vital organ. I was in the hospital for another few days and I eventually lost the job.
Though I have gotten another job, the experience has since been an unforgettable one, I nearly lost my life all because of my smartphone.
I am sharing this experience so that you and your loved ones can learn a thing or two from my story. Every day, people go through similar robbery incidences many lives have been lost to this menace. Sadly, the government seems not to know how they can apprehend these robbers and touts that perpetuate the evil act.
On the part of these touts, they know pretty well that they can always get away with it, phone is always their easy target because of the convenience for them to sell it off in the black market without being traced, checked, or apprehended.
At some point, I wish there was something that could have helped find those guys so that law enforcement agencies can pick them up and possibly return my gadgets to me because of the valuable content I have on there.
I went to a police station, filed a report, and request assistance, but they told me to my face that there was nothing they could do to help me as they do not have the infrastructure to track such a phone.
The question that came to my mind was,
Is there anything at all that could have helped me?
The story above is that of 1 out of 7 smartphone users who at some point lost their smartphones. They all wanted to either have the phone back or be able to retrieve and/or block unauthorized access to the information on their smartphones. For so long, millions of these people were helpless, it is because they do not have a phone tracking solution that could have helped them, until now!
If you are ever attacked; please follow these instructions, it can save your life, so do not ignore them:
1. Never argue with hoodlums and thieves, many of them do not have anything to lose, but you do. You have friends and loved ones who are waiting for you to return home.
2. Give them everything they ask for without hesitating; nothing is more precious than your life.
3. Finally, what attracts them most is your smartphone, ensure you have a mobile tracker app that can work in Nigeria on it. This way, you can track and find it after the incidence.
Here is a link to Pins Mobile Security mobile tracker developed to help Nigerians; www.pinsmobilesecurity.com Let me tell you what will happen after you have read this post; You will either ignore it and hope that it doesn’t happen to you, just like that young lady
OR; you take just 1min of your time now to check how you can keep your phone safe for free here;
Whatever you decide to do, the choice is yours, but I don’t want you to be helpless ever again… Finally, share this with your friends and loved ones. Tips like this have saved many lives. God will keep us all safe! Amen.
