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Christopher Oji
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested three suspected robbers, who were operating in police uniforms.
The suspects were arrested in Ikorodu area of the state by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) after they snatched a commercial motorcycle from the rider.
The suspects were putting on police vest and fez cap when they hijacked the motorcycle.
The suspects, Michael, 24, Ogeh, 27, and Ojomeje, 29, were arrested in Ita – Maga area of Ikorodu.
Ojomeje and Ogeh were caught in police vests and fez cap while trying to escape after snatching the okada.
While operating with Michael’s okada in the area, they stopped another okada rider, stopped him and dispossessed him of his motorcycle around 10pm. They were said to have told the victim that they were police officers from a nearby police station.
The victim thinking that the suspects were policemen, released his okada to the suspects but when they zoomed off with the okada, the victim raised the alarm, which attracted passersby and the RRS operatives, who gave them a hot chase and arrested them few meters from the scene.
Ojomeje, the leader of the gang, said: “In July 2019, men in police uniform collected my okada at Ikorodu bus Stop. They told me that they were task force team from Ebute police station. They asked me to meet them there while they took the okada away.
“I went from from Ebute police station to Ijede, Mola and Ladigboye police post, but there was no trace of them. I had a MOPOL vest at home thrown away by a former neighbour in Obalende. I appealed to Michael to borrow me his sister’s husband police uniform. The plan was to get a motorbike for me and later on, I would pay them too after I might have finished paying my debt.
“While I put on the MOPOL vest, Ogeh, a food stuff seller put on the police vest and fez cap. At around 10pm, we set out using Michael’s okada to Ita Maga. We collected a bike but we were arrested.”
The suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti,Yaba, for further investigation.
Reacting to the development, the state Commissioner of Police, Muazu Zubairu, stated that the police would not relent in its efforts at bringing to book criminals who impersonate the police to give the force a bad name.
