Some Nigerians have expressed anger and concern following the emergence of CCTV footage showing armed men vandalising and dismantling parts of cars parked within an estate reportedly located in the Lekki Phase 1 area of Lagos State.
Although the footage showed that the event occurred on March 7, 2025, the video was shared on Sunday via Facebook by Tope Fasua, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu and showed the suspects—described as “smart-looking guys armed to the teeth”—operating with precision and without being challenged.
The footage, according to Fasua, was obtained from a victim of the robbery.
“This video I got from a victim of very organised crime. These are armed robbers who also stripped cars somewhere in Lekki 1.
“They were caught on CCTV but are probably still at large. I hope they are apprehended. Watch their every movement,” Fasua wrote.
The post triggered a wave of reactions, with many Nigerians calling for a revamp of estate security and improved forensic investigation by law enforcement agencies.
Dapo Kale, one of the commenters, lamented the lack of effective crime scene processing by the Nigeria Police Force.
“This is almost a month the incident happened. I think we should devise the means of proper collection of crime scene [evidence] by the Nigeria Police Force through fingerprints on the vehicle.
“If it is scanned through all the avenues of fingerprint collection in Nigeria—be it NIN or BVN—some of these culprits will be apprehended.
“Some things aren’t rocket science if we are dispassionate in solving problems,” he wrote.
Others pointed to possible insider involvement.
“I suspect there’s a collaborator who is an insider,” Tunde Alabi commented.
“The way they avoided their faces being captured and later shifted the CCTV camera up showed that it was a planned job!
“By the way, why was there no security around?” Alabi questioned, adding that the suspects would eventually “meet their waterloo.”
Wisdom E. Nwansi raised concerns over the market for stolen car parts.
“Who are those buying these parts? If the criminals have no means of selling, they wouldn’t go about vandalising people’s cars,” he said.
“Apprehend the criminals and get the buyers too. The same is happening at our ports too,” he added.
Nnaemeka F. Onyegbule called for more sophisticated estate security systems.
“All these luxury estates will need to beef up their security measures to match up to these realities.
“Employment of adequate and real security personnel and not just gate men is a start,” he wrote.
He also advised that estates invest in technology to monitor entry and exit, ensure residents install CCTV cameras covering strategic areas, and adopt additional security tools like trip sensors and sound alarms.
“It is high time our people and the police value forensic analysis,” he added.
Bimbo Olarinde, another commentator, noted that similar incidents have become common in Lekki Phase 1.
“This is the organised crime going on in Lekki Phase 1 now. I have reported incidents like this at Maroko Police Station,” she wrote.
According to her, the robbers often operate at around 4:30 a.m. when most security guards are likely to be asleep.
“Their target is Toyota Land Cruiser or Lexus. Unfortunately, the police are yet to find a clue on how to arrest them,” she said.
Michael Fatunase and Adewuyi Adeshina Nasir also suggested the use of technology such as motion-sensing alarms and leveraging biometric data already collected through BVN and NIN for investigations.
Francis Denedo echoed the belief that the robbery was likely an inside job.
“If the estate has security guards, they should be taken in for serious questions.
“The ease with which they operated tells a lot in their confidence. They were assured that no one would disturb their operations,” he wrote.
Denedo added that the weapons the men wielded appeared to be pistols.
“It’s not common for such weapons to be in the hands of just anybody. Those are professional thieves,” he argued.