Notorious Robber Arrested in Flood Water

Several neighbourhoods in Douala were inundated Wednesday following heavy rains.

A police officer of the Mobile Intervention Unit in Bonanjo said, satirically, that Douala's flooding is paying off. He was referring to an armed robber who suddenly got stocked in flood waters fleeing with a stolen taxi, when police chasing from behind nabbed him.

Ngangue residents awoke to this shocking reality as it rained throughout Wednesday morning (July 25) in the economic capital, a season the underworld hijack for their activities, according to security forces.

Heavy floods entering homes from almost all angles defeated every combat strategy by inhabitants of affected homes. A spectacular drama ensued that changed the mourning and activity of most residents into a brief amusement. At about 8:30 a.m., a panic-stricken notorious armed robber fleeing in a stolen taxi drove headlong in a deadlock of flood waters around Chefferie Bonapriso. A police caravan, joined by a voluntary convoy of "benskin" riders as the robber drove from Shell New Bell through Rue CBC to the Ngangue neighbourhood, stalked him to the surrounding flood water that overwhelmed about 90 per cent of the neighbourhood. The fleeing middle-aged man, yet to be identified, was quickly nabbed as he struggled to dash out of the steering wheel of the vehicle now firmly stopped by the covering water.

Residents who continued to gush out flood water from homes past midday joined in the solidarity between the police and "benskin" riders to tactically, but carefully, arrest the weapon-laden man. A semi-automatic revolver, a knife, and cartridges were found on him. One of the police officers revealed how the man had knocked down one of them who was controlling traffic around the busy Akwa streets during the escape.

This other side of the flood story reveals that Douala is yet to find a solution to the seasonal disaster. Beside Ngangue in the Douala II Subdivision, Bilongue in the Douala III also submerged in the disturbing floods. Properties destroyed and other casualties caused, as it is the case in other sectors where adequate information is needed, may still take some time for concerned authorities to evaluate.