How 40 armed robbers invades Shomolu in just one Night

A band of armed robbers of no fewer than 40 members have been brought to their knees after being engaged by a volunteer vigilance group in Lagos State.

This was however, after they had allegedly held a car dealer hostage and robbed him of a large amount of money.

Three of these robbers are now in police net helping with the ongoing investigation to unmask their gang and bring the other members to book.

The three cooling their feet in police custody include: Jelili Rasak aka Dudu, Sunday Amaka aka Cyan and Lukmon Odeyinka aka Omo Bankanje, are currently cooling their heels in police custody.

The three suspects, Saturday Mirror gathered, were members of a robbery gang who ply their trade around Somolu area of the state.

Around 1:30 a.m on Friday, February 7, 2014, the gang stormed about three streets in Somolu robbing people from house to house and inflicting untold hardship on the residents.

Before now, landlords and other residents of Adeola, Olorunsogo and Awofeso streets also in the area had to take their destinies into their own hands after the communities had been terrorised by dare devil robbers who seemed to have defied all solutions to curb their activities.

Reportedly numbering about 40, the robbers stormed the three streets but were met with a stiff resistance by members of the vigilance group. But before the apprehension of the three suspects, one car dealer cum clearing agent, identified as Adetokunbo became their victim.

Adetokunbo, otherwise called Abuga by his friends, was waylaid at gunpoint by some of the robbers. It was reported that Adetokunbo pleaded with them to spare his life and after a thorough search was conducted on him, the robbers seized a sum of N200, 000 found on him. They did not stop at that.

The search of Adetokunbo also revealed that he had on him a couple of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards, which were also seized from him. It was further gathered that upon seizing the ATM cards, the suspected robbers demanded that he reveal the pin code of the cards to them, threatening even to kill him if he refused.

Adetokunbo succumbed to the robbers’ threats and shouted the numbers at them. But rather than allow him to go, the suspected robbers demanded that he (Adetokunbo) should lead them to a ATM machine apparently to confirm the code he gave them and also possibly make some withdrawals with them.

While the atrocities were going on, law enforcement agents from Pedro Police Division Bariga, were already on hand to engage the criminals, and this they eventually did successfully, working in collaboration with the vigilance team on ground.

While Adetokunbo was being led to the next available ATM point, the law enforcement agents pounced on the robbers. In an exchange of gunfire, one of the robbers identified as Jelili was apprehended while his partners-in-crime took to their heels, and two others also sustained serious injuries.

A shot gun and two live cartridges were found on the suspects. Two other members of the gang, Amaka and Lukmon were arrested under the gutter at Adedoyin Street after a search was conducted on the whereabouts of the robbers.

In his confession after his arrest, Jelili confessed to the crime but maintained that that was the first time he had gone out on such a crime.

Injured Sunday and Lukmon both denied being robbers, saying they only went out to fight the vigilance group who had arrested one of them called Ireti.

When asked what they and Ireti were doing outside by that time, neither of them could proffer any convincing defence. But the trio agreed to be members of the Eiye Confraternity. After a search nine GSM phones were found in Jelili’s possession.

Speaking with reporters, one of the vigilance members who does not want his name mentioned claimed that the arrest of the three suspects would help reduce the incessant cases of robbery in the area.

His words, “On that day, just from nowhere we saw the boys numbering over 40 coming towards us and shooting indiscriminately. The police from Pedro, which we had already alerted, also shot at them but we were surprised that they went away with the injured ones, while we arrested three of them”