Police operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad and Meiran Division of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a female and 14 other suspected armed and traffic robbers.
Thirteen of the suspects were arrested as traffic robbers by the RRS on Friday, January 29 and Saturday, January 30, 2021, at Oshodi and Ketu (Alausa) areas of the state, according to the state police spokesman, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi on Sunday, January 31.
The arrest, the PPRO said, was as a result of intensified efforts at mopping up criminals suspected to be attacking motorists and commuters in traffic.
He said that the RRS intelligence-based findings revealed that the suspects usually pretended to be load carriers at Oshodi, but would abscond with travellers’ loads at dawn and night.
It was also gathered that they often attacked and robbed unsuspecting Lagos residents, especially travellers and commuters, in the areas.
Adejobi added that the arrest was made after a four-day surveillance on black spots at Oshodi and Alausa (Ketu), with a view to weeding out criminals in the areas.
The suspects were reportedly picked up by the Rapid Response Squad’s (RRS) Commander, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi’s led team between 10:45pm on Friday and 4:30am on Saturday at Oshodi Oke and Alausa respectively.
The suspects picked at Oshodi included Tinuola Ajibola (18), Adeniji Farouk (16), Wale Ajetunmobi (24), Chibueze Okasa (17), Taiwo Goodluck (36), Sodiq Timileyin (23), Salami Alex (21), Umar Abubakar (20), Micheal Iroaja (36), Abba Mohammed (20) and Mukaila Fasepe (43).
Two other suspects, Saviour Nwoko (21) and Ayomide David (19) were said to have been caught in the act by the team, at different locations, with machete and stolen phones at Alausa, Lagos.
The PPRO stated that David, alias Sharwama, who is an ex-convict, disclosed to the police that his gang used to operate along Olowopopo Road, Ojodu and Ojota.
Also, the police operatives attached to Meiran Division of the command arrested two suspected armed robbers at Ikola Ipaja Bridge, while on pin-down point, on January 27, at about 11:20p.m.
They were identified as Oluwadamilare Folami (22) and Desire Chukwu (21), who is a female.
Adejobi disclosed that a locally-made pistol, charms and weeds, suspected to be marijuana, were recovered from the suspects who were stopped on a motorbike and searched.
He added that the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, had directed that the suspects be transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, for investigation.
