Road traffic Armed robbery attacks in Lagos state and what drivers can do

There has been a growing number of armed robbery reports on motorists along traffic spots in Lagos such as the Apongbon end of Eko bridge and the most common victims are female drivers who get robbed by knife wielding thieves of their gadgets such as mobile phone and money. At times, the robbers also use guns and their mode of attack is to break the windows after which they disposess drivers of their riches.

A recent report was made by a Lady on Twitter where she said her side window was smashed and then she was stabbed multiple times on her arm and lap while being asked to surrender her phone and money. Did the robbers have to go that extra mile of harming her just to get her phone and money? I'm sure if they had asked without much violent but by just pointing their guns or knives, they would have still got what they wanted. The bottom line is that she was violently attacked, almost killed and still lost her valuables. While she screamed and tried to get the attention of other people in the public, people hardly paid attention to her except for a good Nigerian who later helped.

What can Lagos drivers especially the female ones do to avoid or deal with this issue?

I think they can do quite a lot of things such as:
- Be on alert when in traffic
- Avoiding driving through dangerous routes
- Avoid driving at night if possible
- Avoid taking routes that normally have traffic congestion
- Have a ready to use pepper spray in their cars
- Make use of car video cameras to record the faces of attackers so as to later report the crime to police.
- Have a ready to use taser gun
- Improve their driving skills so that they can use their cars defensively to ward of attackers

Those armed robbers mostly attack women because they feel they are easy targets and can do little to overpower them unlike men who are considered better drivers and more harder to scare. Although both men and women can be attacked but from reports, it's mostly women who are the main victims. The police may not be available all the time to protect drivers in traffic and so it's best to find ways to protect yourself.