By Christopher Oji
It was a drama of sort at the premises of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command, Dopemu, Lagos, when a dispatch rider, who was arrested for traffic offence, sprang a surprise by snatching the car key of a man who was pleading for his release and zoomed off with the car.
The 23-year-old dispatch rider has been arrested for stealing the Toyota Camry 2010 model.
The suspect was initially nabbed by RRS for traffic offence before he was rearrested for car theft by another police division.
The suspect, Ternia Samuel, was apprehended by the RRS men and a man, who saw the police officers taking away, started pleading with the officers to release the suspect.
The man had claimed that Samuel was his brother, but while pleading for his release, Samuel sprang a surprise, snatched the car key of the sympathiser and zoomed off with the car.
According to Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the incident happened last Sunday, when RRS operatives on patrol intercepted Samuel’s unregistered motorcycle with a passenger on Dopemu Bridge,” a concerned passerby, who claimed to be Samuel’s brother, witnessed the interception, intervened by pleading for the release of the bike.
“It was during this encounter that Samuel brazenly snatched the passerby’s car key, jumped into his Toyota Camry car, and sped off.
“ Though the RRS operatives pursued him, he managed to evade capture only to be arrested and the vehicle recovered by the Shasha Police Division, minutes after the incident. The passerby, upon questioning, confessed that he was only trying to assist Samuel by claiming to be his brother”.
Meanwhile, Commander, RRS, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, has directed the prompt arraignment of the suspect.