Three suspected members of a notorious armed robbery gang, which specialised in breaking into people’s homes in Ayobo, Ishefu, Baruwa and Gowon Estate areas of Lagos State have been arrested by the operatives of the Force Intelligence Response Team, IRT.
Identified as Sheyi Olayiwola, Sadiq Adeniji and Maduka Godwin, the suspects were arrested after they allegedly attacked and robbed residents of two buildings at Gemade Estate which is located within Gowon Estate area of Lagos.
It was gathered that attacks were carried out on December 18, 2020 and January 4, 2021.
The suspects during interrogations by the police insisted that they don’t carry guns during operations because they knew armed robbery carries capital punishment.
They maintained that they only operate at nights, scale fences, break into victims’ apartments through their kitchens and only used knives found in such kitchens to threaten owners of the house.
They allegedly carted away valuables which included cash, Jewelry, mobile phones and laptops valued at N14million.
Newsmen gathered that in one of the homes attacked in Gemade Estate, a victim identified simply as Tobi, who had just returned to the country from the United Kingdom was sold out for the attack by one of the robbers, still at large, who got wind of his trip and arrival.
He was said to have alerted his gang members and they stormed Tobi’s apartment at night and robbed him.
It was gathered that the robbers gained entrance through scaling the fence before they broke in through the kitchen. Sources revealed that the sum of N1million both in local and foreign currencies, seven pieces of iPhone 12 Pro-Max and expensive jewelries, valued at N10million were carted away.
Two weeks after that incident, the robbers returned to Gemade Estate and robbed the home of one Mr. Okeowo next to Tobi, using the same pattern and carted away valuables’ worth over N4million. One of the robbers, it was revealed was alleged to have attempted to rape one of Mr. Okeowo’s daughters, while the robbery was on, but he stopped after he was bribed with a gold necklace.
Police sources disclosed that residents who were worried about the incessant robbery attacks wrote a petition to Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu to come to their aid.
The IGP in turn, mandated Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) to investigate the robbery attacks in a view to bring perpetrators to book.
DCP Kyari thus deployed operatives who stormed Lagos State from Abuja and through the aid of advance technology trailed members of the gang to their hideout in Ikotun Market, Lagos State, where three members of the gang were arrested.
Sources disclosed further that the suspects, during inter¬rogations confessed that they have been in the business in their homes for long and that that they specialised in oper¬ating in Ishefun, Baruwa and Ayobo areas of the state. One of their gang members, who they identified as Aje, was the per¬son who invited them to rob res¬idents of Gemade Estate. They added that Aje is a resident of Gemade Estate and familiar to Mr. Tobi and Mr. Okeowo. They said they don’t use guns while robbing their victims because they don’t want the police to kill them whenever they get them arrested.
