One may think that robbing of items and properties belonging to accident victims is peculiar to Nigeria, but it may interest you to know that it may be a global phenomenon.
Sometimes when accidents occur, whether at the airport when an aeroplane crashes or when vehicles collide, or even trucks heavily loaded with goods or petroleum products, you will discover that people are only interested in looting instead of assisting affected persons.
Ordinarily, officials and agencies responsible for responding to such emergencies may have warned that sympathisers should steer clear in case of fire outbreak but those whose intention is to loot accident victims often violate such instruction so as to enrich themselves.
At the airport, for instance, the officials of Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) will always announce that people should stay away in case of fire outbreak. This is perhaps to enable them investigate the cause of the accident as well as secure passengers luggage.
One bad thing is that one may think that those who come around the scene may be genuine sympathisers but they may not be, after all. They may not even be bothered about the extent to which the incident has occurred.
Recently, a truck conveying cartons of tomato paste fell on an SUV vehicle on NTA Road and its contents poured and what one could see were women especially, looting cartons of tomato paste. It is appalling that persons who should be involved in rescue operation when accidents occur will be busy looting in broad daylight.
They forgot that those items were purchased for sale by the owner. The driver conveying those goods may not be the owner of the consignment. He is paid to do the job and will be accountable for every item. This is obviously the intention of the owner of the goods.
When accidents occur, it is always people’s intention to loot.  They claim that it is normal that items involved in accidents should be looted, not considering how the owner will feel and the losses that may be incurred.
When the tomato incident occurred, women were happy packing goods belonging to another person. This is highly condemnable. Though reports have it that it happens all over the world but women should not involve in that kind of business. As mothers, what will they teach their children? I do not understand what level of hunger that can lead to looting of accident victims instead of offering help as the case may be.
More worrisome was the fact that the victim, who was the owner of the SUV smashed by the driver of the truck needed help under the truck, but the people were busy parking tins of tomato paste and laughing, except a woman who was really calling for help. Surely, these are not the kind of things that should be happening in our society. When such situations come up, there should be genuine sympathisers and not looters.
It may also interest you to note that when an individual falls into a gutter, especially when it rains heavily and the drainages are full, people will prefer to laugh instead of assisting the victim.  They often forget that it can be anybody.  Like the saying goes, rain does not fall on one man’s roof alone.
It is worrisome to see human beings search pockets of accident victims and collect their personal effects when they are in pains. This natural human character should be discouraged and not be tolerated in the society.
A report had it that even in one of the civilised countries, where a bullion van that was conveying money was involved in a crash, people who were not looking hungry were seen packing money. When such incidents occur, security agents should ensure that those whose stock-in-trade is to loot accident victims are arrested and prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others. People close to the scene of accidents should assist and invite more people to rescue any victims.
I know that when vehicles conveying goods break down on the roads, there is always provision for another to transfer those goods. Recalling a fire incident that occurred at the Mile Three Market in Port Harcourt earlier this year, when shops were affected; looters were busy looting goods even as the shop owners were struggling to secure their wares. According to the traders, they could not talk for fear of attack.
It is very painful to see accident victims bleeding and in need of help while people are busy searching the scene for money and other valuables. Unemployment, as some are wont to argue, should not be an excuse for this kind of behaviour.
A tanker loaded with petroleum products fell in a certain community and its content spilled. People from the community, especially women, were busy scooping the substance.  The implication was that if the product went into flame, none would have been spared.
A truck laden with onions was transporting its consignment through one of the states  a few months ago when the vehicle was halted due to reasons best known to the people who accosted the driver,  bags of onions were looted and women were seen collecting and sending into their houses.  They never bothered that it was someone’s trading stock.
I visited a market where bags of onions were offloaded from a truck. The men who were doing the job were careless such that onions were scattered all over.  Do you know that people started picking these onions into their bags?
Genuine sympathisers should put a call to security agents like the police and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) officials patrolling such roads in case some victims have to be moved to nearby hospitals.

By: Eunice Choko-Kayode