How I got robbed by Scammers in Jos

 

In 2015 I was in 100L, I had just completed my first semester exams, I was left with GST and it wasn't due till a week's time. A month before this time, my brothers wife had put to bed (Chris), I had 1 week before GST, why not go to Abuja and visit them and see my new born nephew?

The next day, I decided to go to my sister's house, she was owing me money and that was all I had, so I would spend the night at her place then leave the next morning to Abuja. 

When I left the hostel, it looked like it was gonna rain so I hurriedly left so I don't get stuck in the hostel cause Jos rain too like to dey do anyhow😏.. 

 

Unfortunately, by the time I got to Lamingo junction (Lamingo is where Jos Teaching Hospital is, it's quite a distance from the campus), it was already raining heavily. I got to British junction (sub drop before I get to my final bus stop), I found a shade and decided to wait there for a while. 

 

While waiting, I saw a guy coming towards me with an umbrella, if he comes closer I'd ask him if I can join him under his umbrella I said to myself. But as he came closer, I lost the thought, I said it's not even that heavy, I can manage to the junction to get keke. 

 

So I ran inside the rain, after jogging for a while, I got to the junction.. A keke beckoned on me and shouted "Rayfield" that was my way, so I asked him to stop, I crossed the road and boarded the keke, before we moved, someone else stopped it, and guess who it was, the same guy whom I had wanted to share his umbrella with, what are the odds right?

 

Before this dude joined us, there was already a passenger in the keke, he had started a conversation with me earlier, he referred to the cold weather in Jos probably so I can identify him as a visitor, as a cheerful and polite person that I am, I encouraged him that the weather is still friendly now, it's not cold yet, he went ahead to ask me if i know a particular hospital in Rayfield, I told him I wasn't sure where it is located but since we are headed to the same route, I'd ask for him.

 

By this time the other dude joined us already and we proceeded. This dude I met in the keke,  let's call him Ananias, he asked if he can get recharge card, I told him to talk to the rider, he'd understand, he said he can't speak Hausa, I'm not very lucky on the second language acquisition myself so I spoke English and the rider pretended to be struggling to understand me, so the umbrella guy communicated in Hausa and the rider said no problem. 

 

Ananias thanked the umbrella guy,  na so story change o... Ananias started talking about God and advised us to be careful, that we should try to fast often, especially the umbrella guy, he should fast before traveling yen yen yen.. Then the keke rider stopped for him to buy airtime. Umbrella guy at this point was in awe, he asked if I knew Ananias from anywhere, I told him no, he said, ah! This one he's advising us like this, he seems accurate. I asked if he was traveling, he confirmed he was, I was flabbergasted!!

 

Umbrella guy pushed that we ask Ananias further to hear more of his visions. Oga came back from getting airtime and claimed they didn't have change.. We continued our journey, by this time we were headed towards Abattoir.. 

Immediately Ananias got in the keke, Umbrella guy asked him why he advised us to take precautions and if he saw something, Ananias now asked us the churches we attend, I told him I'm a Catholic (Proudly) and Umbrella guy said he attends ECWA, Ananias now went "I don't like talking about these things because people don't take it seriously when it's coming from a Catholic, he said he's a seminarian. 

 

That got me thrilled and more interested in the whole discussion. He asked the umbrella guy, you want to travel to see your blind father soon right? Dude went " Jesus!! How did you know that?

 

He turned to me and went "Your mom is sick right?" Of a truth, momsy had complained of body pain a week ago, I dunno why I said yes cos the last time we spoke, she was fine.. Ananias now said to the umbrella guy, you have an uncle in Zaria, he's a proprietor, he's son is with you in Jos right??.. Uncu went "my God! my God! Yesss.. Dramatic much?

 

He now told him his Proprietor's uncle was responsible for his fathers blindness. Na so oga begin shout, and his son has been with me, I have been looking after him. Ha!! people are wicked.. He turned to me and said my village people have been trying to get to me because they know I'm the one that'd uplift my family. 

 

He said they've been trying but can't get to me through the mysterious calabash in their coven so they are using a friend of mine to get to me, at this moment I don begin mark all my friends faces, from Secondary School to university 🤣.. Anyone could be the culprit, I was already planning how I'd start blanking some of them. 

 

He now said I should be careful when I comb my hair, or at the salon, I shouldn't walk barefoot blah blah blah... The keke came to a halt, we asked what happened and he said he's not sure. He came down and went to check, came back and pleaded with us to chill so he can try to fix the problem. 

 

Mind you, the rain had increased again. 

While we were waiting, Ananias was now giving us remedies to our unforeseen problems. He advised to bless at least a beggar, no matter how little. He now said there'd be different ways for these preys to get us and one of them is through our ATM pins, nonsense right? somehow it made sense to me. Everything made sense to me at this point. 

 

He told us to bring out our ATM cards and that after he Shouts Jesus, we should call our pins. Stupid right? I know.. We did it three times. Then he said we'd go down one after the other, count 5 poles, stand at the last pole, say a prayer then fetch sand and put in out pocket or bag.

 

Like I said, it was raining, but well, at this point, I didn't know what I was doing. He asked the umbrella guy to go first and that he should empty his pockets and hand everything he had to me. Before then He asked if we had any cash on us, luckily for me, I had just two hundred naira in my purse, like I said, all I had was with my sister. 

 

Umbrella guy brought out 25k, all in 500 naira notes and gave it to me with something else that I can't remember. He stepped out from the keke and went out, Ananias asked me to go after him that his heart is hard and that he doesn't have a forgiving heart. I called him back and he pleaded that he'd forgive his uncle, that he needs his dad to regain his sight. 

 

He told him to go on.. Few minutes later, he came back, but something I realized later was the fact that dude wasn't drenched. the keke guy had his umbrella outside "fixing the keke" so how come??

 

It was my turn, he asked me what I had in my bag, I told him clothes and books, so I was asked to drop my phone and my purse. Brethren, that's how your sister entered rain and started counting poles o, I counted the poles, did the remaining rituals and then proceeded back to the keke. I don win my village people like this and I still dey think about the betrayal friend 😆

The way the keke was parked, it was curvy in a way, so you can't see anything in front of you properly. As I walked closer I wasn't seeing any parked keke o, I was now wondering if I passed them already.  Ha! I was sure I was at the right spot, but there was no keke in sight.. My eyes come clear, I have been duped!!

 

I stopped another keke, got home, collected money and paid him, told my sister my ordeal. The next day, I went to block my card then proceeded to Abuja.. Y'all don't want to know how I got to my brothers house for the first time and without a phone (story for another day).

 

Good thing is, the only thing they got was my phone, my voters card and a necklace I had in my purse with that 200 naira.

Who else has encountered this set of robbers, What was your story?