Two armed robbery suspects fleeing after a failed attempt to snatch a vehicle were Friday night apprehended by Shagari Estate residents in Iyana Ipaja, the police said on Sunday.
Abbey Kolawole, 40, Ikenna Eze, 30, had attempted to scale a fence when their attempts to dispossess two occupants who were having a conversation inside the target vehicle failed but they were caught by residents who earlier heard a gunshot on the road.
It was gathered that the suspects and one Femi, now at large, had fired into the air to warn the occupants of the vehicle to vacate the car.
According to sources, the unnamed occupant had auto-locked the car and wound up upon sighting the armed robbers. It was gathered that Femi who held the gun, attempted to fire a second shot at the passengers but the locally made double barrel gun hooked.
“By this time, the residents of the area had emerged to check what was happening. The robbers fled in different directions and abandoned their gun.
“Kolawole and Eze were unfortunate as the people they were scaling their fences caught them and handed them over to Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives who intercepted distress call of robbery in the area,” said the police.
In his statement to the police, Eze said Femi was having a disagreement with one of the occupants of the vehicle, adding that he invited them to kill the person.
According to him, the person in whose resident they went, had threatened to kill Femi, their leader and so, Femi decided to deal with the man first.
“The man came to Femi’s house in Agege Abbattoir with many cult members and threatened to kill Femi. So, Femi invited us to his house so that he would deal with the man first.
“The plan was to shoot the man in the leg but after firing the first shot into the air, the gun hooked and before he could reload it, residents came out and were moving towards us.
“Femi was the one who knew the road. He escaped while we, strangers in that community were arrested,” he told detectives.
Police said the suspects admitted they were members of Aiye and Eiye confraternities, adding that the locally made double barrel shot gun, an expanded and three live cartridges were recovered from them.
Lagos State Police Commissioner Hakeem Odumosu commended the residents of the estate for cooperating with the police and ensuring the robbers were apprehended, urging other communities to partner the police.
The suspects were handed over to Gowon Police Station, Ipaja, for further action
