The Lagos State Police Command said it has apprehended three armed robbery suspects accused of robbing a woman of N3.2 million and a vehicle.
Spokesperson for the Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the arrests on Thursday to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), revealing that the Rapid Response Squad played a crucial role in tracking and apprehending the suspects.
The robbery in question occurred on November 14, at about 10pm, when the suspects allegedly surrounded the victim as she was leaving her office in Oregun, Ikeja.
They forced the woman into her Toyota car, robbed her of N3.2 million and phones, and compelled her to transfer money to an account provided by them. After collecting the money, they pushed her out of the vehicle near Kara bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
According to Hundeyin, the gang leader, Sheriff Owolabi, who had been on the police’s wanted list, confessed to a previous robbery and murder of one Temitope on August 19 at Ojodu Berger in Lagos.
Following Owolabi’s confession, another gang member, Ibrahim Gambo, was arrested in the Ibafo area of Ogun. Investigations revealed that the stolen car was taken to Ibadan and sold to a suspected receiver from Cotonou, Benin Republic, identified as Alhaji.
The suspect had confessed to a series of car snatching in Lagos. He also confessed that the cars were sold to the same buyer.
Also, one Sheriff Olakunle, arrested in Mushin, was implicated in helping the suspects sell stolen phones in the area. The police also traced the suspects to a POS operator who facilitated the cashing of the money transferred from the victim’s account.
An investigation, according to Hundeyin is ongoing to apprehend the suspected receiver of the stolen items.
Additionally, the police arrested four persons for robbing road users in traffic along the Ojota area of Lagos, following a tip-off from one of the victims.
The Rapid Response Squad swiftly acted on the information, leading to the arrests of three suspects on Sunday and the fourth suspect on Monday.
