The Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit has arrested a 27-year-old man, Kayode Oluwole, who poses as a drink seller to rob motorists in traffic.
The task force Chairman, SP Olayinka Egbeyemi, in a statement on Monday, said the suspect was apprehended by officials of the agency at Oshodi.
He said the suspect disguised as a drink seller and attacked unsuspecting motorists who wanted to patronise him.
Egbeyemi said,
“Immediately the suspect was arrested and every item stolen recovered, the owner was called on the telephone to pick up her bag and the two phones at the task force office. The suspect usually pretended as a drink seller.”
He said the suspect was caught on Saturday after he allegedly broke the side screen of a Toyota Corolla and snatched two phones and a bag containing valuables from a woman.
Egbeyemi who handed over the suspect to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, said the CP had directed that Oluwole should be charged to court.
Speaking also, the Head, Public Affairs Unit of the task force, Taofiq Adebayo, said the CP had directed the agency to embark on strict enforcement of the Lagos State Road Traffic Law 2012.
He said the CP had also warned motorists, particularly those around Pen Cinema, Agege, Dopemu, Ile-zik, Oshodi, Mile 2, Berger, Igando and Lasu-Iba Road areas to stop driving against traffic or causing obstructions to other road users.
Oluwole, who hails from Abeokuta, Ogun State, in his confessional statement to the police said,
“I used the hammer to break the woman’s vehicle side screen because she refused to surrender her bag and two phones when I attacked her in the traffic.”
According to the police, the suspect uses a hammer to break car glasses and rob motorists of their phones and other valuables whenever his gimmick fails.
The victim, Mrs. Hadizatu Jiddah, commended the operatives for prompt action which led to the suspect’s arrest and the recovery of her valuables.
