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By Christopher Oji
The Lagos State Police Command has warned motorists to be wary of roadside mechanics, as some of them are robbers.
Also, the command has arrested two dismissed soldiers and two other gang members of their robbery gang.
Also paraded by alongside the Soldiers was 25-year-old Thankgod Kesh-David, who posed as a roadside mechanic to effect repairs on broken-down vehicles, only to disappear with them,.
Briefing journalists at the Command Headquarters, Ikeja, yesterday, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer PPRO SP Benjamin Hundyin,said, “We have successfully arrested a robbery gang through our tactical team based in Surulere. The four-man gang specialized in snatching vehicles at gunpoint from motorists in Lagos. They have been operating for quite a long time. Two of them are dismissed soldiers, one was dismissed in 2014 and the other in 2017. They carried out their crime wearing full military gear”.
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One of the dismissed soldiers, Akeem Suleiman, who claimed he was dismissed from the Nigerian Army in 2017 for desertion, told journalists that “I started robbery in April 2024. Anytime we steal a car, I drive it to the receiver’s place. We steal cars randomly. If we see anyone parked and wound down, we drag them out and zoom off in the car. We operate in Ajah area of Lagos, with a local gun. But we never killed our victims.”
However, Hundyin said,”We also have somebody who was employed as a driver. Unfortunately the employer did not do due diligence. The same day he resumed as a driver, he ran away with the car and could not be traced.
Interestingly, he dedicated the car in church the following Sunday, testifying of what God has done to him.
Speaking with journalists, the arrested driver, Daniel, said, “I stole my madam’s Lexus car and took it to the church to testify that God has blessed me. My intention was to use it for Uber and use the proceeds to pay my debt. I stole the car on June 23, 2024, the very first day I was employed, and I took it to church on June 30, 2024.”
The Command’s spokesman advised that due diligence should be exercised when employing a driver or domestic staff, and that they should be taken to the Central Criminal Registry at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, and the forensic unit before employment.
He said the suspects would be charged to court.
