BEVERLY HILLS, March 08, (THEWILL) – Recently, news went round that some policemen had stormed an uncompleted police barracks to forcefully take possession of it as their living quarters.
THEWILL gathered that the barracks built by the Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Development Areas Corporation(EDSOGPADEC) was meant for the police as part of the intervention agency’s welfare package for them to ease the issue of lack of decent accommodation that they have been going through over the years.
Ugbekun area, where the barracks is built, is situated within Upper Sokponba, a suburb of Benin metropolis, that is located in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of the state.
Upper Sakponba means so many things to different people. To many, the locality is the den of criminals; while to others, it is a cool and calm area. But those that see the locality as the den of criminals are in the majority and their assessment is further backed up with the high crime rate associated with the locality. THEWILL gathered that the police always have their cells filled with criminals, mostly from Upper Sakponba whenever they raid dark spots in the metropolis.
By geographical spread, Sakponba is split into two different metropolitan Local Government Areas of Edo State; Oredo and Ikpoba Okha Local Government Areas.
While the small portion that is closest to the Central Business District of the acclaimed ancient city of bronze which can be assessed easily through the popular Ring Road is called Sakponba, the larger stretch which commences from a place called third junction snakes into the Benin – Abraka Road and also to Orhionmwan Local Government Area of the state.
If you are a new face in the city, you may not see or experience anything out of the ordinary as you navigate your way from Ring Road to the third junction. But the moment you get to the third junction, the whole story takes a new dimension. And please, be careful as you get closer to the third junction, avoid falling into the hands of miscreants , who without your consent, may want to tutor you on what obtains in Upper Sakponba.
How would this happen you ask?
First thing you will be advised to do is to put your phone on silent or switch it off, especially if it is the high-end type of phones like iPhone, Nokia series, android, oppo, Samsung, Huawei etc. If you forget to switch the phone off or put it on silence and a call comes through which you may inadvertently want to pick, you may end up losing the phone to pickpockets who will snatch it from you with the speed of light.
If you fall prey to such a criminal activity from ‘the boys’, don’t bother
shouting or trying to call the attention of bystanders to help you accost the thief as nobody will be willing to stick out his or her neck to do your bidding. The best you will get is a reprimand such as : “are you new in town?!”
If you survive this initial onslaught by keeping your phone, money or other valuables intact in your bag, please do ensure that you are not carried away by anything like watching “up and down” (meaning sight seeing). This warning is particularly useful for you so that you’re not distracted such that the person sitting next to you if he is criminally minded does not make away with any of your valuables while you are deeply engrossed in sight seeing.
Depending on the bus stop that you will terminate your journey, the bus stops in this part of town bear somewhat funny names or are names given in honour of certain institutions, personalities and events.
For instance, there is Maria Gorreti junction. The bus stop derives its name from the Roman Catholic-owned church and school situated within a few meters to the bus stop. There are others like welfare bus stop, derived from the correctional facility for minors (remand home) built within the area; Erediauwa bus stop so named in honour of the immediate past Oba of Benin; wahala junction where a police station is situated close by; Abico Market bus stop named after a nearby market where you can get bushmeat at affordable rates; Jesus Christ named after a nearby church; Three house; Ariama Junction and Sin and Die bus stop.
Don’t be deceived that crime can only be committed in this area at night. The early morning hours is as risky as the night hours in Upper Sakponba. For some, staying out to patronise beer parlours, Isi-ewu joints, fun spots and the likes is in order while others don’t dare step out of their homes once they are indoors “as you never can tell when and where the miscreants would strike. In Upper Sakponba, we live with the fear of the unknown,” a resident who craved anonymity told THEWILL.
Some of the dark spots in Upper Sakponba include Three house, Aifuwa and Nomayo bus stop areas where the rule is “exhibit violence at any given opportunity. Crime pays if you know how.” In these areas are preponderance of Indian hemp joints, illicit gin parlours.
In Upper Sakponba, there is no crime that cannot or have not been committed ranging from cultism, armed robbery, yahoo plus, kidnapping, car snatching, hard drug peddling etc.
The propensity of criminal activities associated with Upper Sakponba came to bear during the 2020 EndSARS protests hijacked by hoodlums. The jailbreaks in Edo State were said to have been carried out by hoodlums mainly from Upper Sakponba. Thus, if you can lay your hands on some viral videos of the destruction that were carried out in Edo State, majority of the main actors are from Upper Sokponba. Is it the Osaro DPO video? The main character in that video who we learnt was later arrested by the police is from Upper Sakponba. Or do you want to talk about the pillage of the state government warehouse filled with palliatives situated at another suburb of Benin City which was discovered by residents of the neighbourhood who had to wait until the Upper Sakponba goons arrived before they jointly broke in.
An experience that a media practitioner(name withheld) will not forget in a hurry was how he pretended to be insane in his move to outsmart hoodlums who stationed themselves all over Upper Sakponba openly robbing passersby during the EndSARS protests. There are four police stations/posts in the locality viz Dumez Road Police Station, St. Saviour Road Police Station, Ugbekun Police Station and Idogbo Police Station. All the facilities were razed down during the EndSARS protests.
THEWILL went to town to sample the views of some residents of the locality about the area and they share divergent views of the area.
Ebalu Ikhili, a journalist, said: “Don’t rely on the negative things some people say about Upper Sakponba to make your assessment of the area. I have being living there for over ten years and I cannot remember any untoward incident happening to me. My children were brought up there and to the glory of God, they are of good upbringing.
For Kenneth Iguisi, Correspondent of Authority Newspaper, “I was born and brought up in Upper Sakponba where I have spent over 45 years of my life. Given the opportunity, I will always live there. The only advice that I have for people living there is that they should mind their business. They should not form the habit of always interfering in things happening within their vicinity.”
Francis Ogbuagu, Correspondent of New Telegraph Newspaper, said: “Having lived in Upper Sakponba, there is no where in the world that I cannot live in. Though, I must confess that I cannot bring up/train my children there.”
For Osayi Teddy Omoruyi, a businessman, “It is not all part of Upper Sakponba that are no go areas. It is only some miscreants who are giving the place a bad name.”
Elvis Omoregie said: “I spent over 35 years in Upper Sakponba. The place is a calm and cool place. I have never experienced any nasty thing there.”
Friday Akpomejero, Correspondent of Plus TV, said: “I cannot compare Upper Sakponba with any other area in Benin City. I was born and bred there. I have never had a bad experience there.”
However, a resident of the area who craved anonymity , said: “I made a big mistake in building my house in Upper Sakponba but to God be the glory, I have relocated elsewhere within the Benin metropolis. I was fortunate to get somebody to buy my building in Upper Sakponba for what I consider a token but I am not worried. While living in Upper Sakponba, I and my family became victims of deadly robbery attacks on more than four different occasions.”
Another resident, Idris Momoh, was however frank.
“A friend once told me of how an honest landlord refunded all the money he paid to rent an apartment after he had made all the necessary payments. The landlord told him that he should seek accommodation elsewhere having seen his young family. He advised him that Upper Sakponba is not a place meant for such a decent family,” he told THEWILL.
About the Author
