- They’re attached to Alagbon, not our personnel – Lagos Police Command
By MATTHEW DIKE
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested four police officers and a civilian for alleged armed robbery and kidnapping in the metropolis.
The Point’s investigation revealed that the police officers, including three inspectors and one sergeant, who are attached to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, Lagos State, had for long connived with their civilian accomplice to perpetrate the criminal acts in different parts of the state.
The policemen, identified as Inspectors Johnson Amadi, Collins Uyagbeme, Akohan Uwadiegwu and Sergeant Seyi Akinbo as well as their civilian driver, Martins Nubia, were alleged to have kidnapped two civilians, Shola Mohammed and Samuel Nzube, at about 4.30 hours, on January 1, 2019.
The victims, Mohammed and Nzube, were said to have been moving in a Toyota Camry bus when the suspects waylaid them and held them hostage inside the vehicle and later escorted them to an Automated Teller Machine of a bank along the Victoria Island Lekki Expressway, Lagos, to withdraw huge sums of money, which they handed over to them under duress.
A police inspector attached to the X-Squad of the Lagos State Police Command, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that after the suspected police officers took their two victims to the bank and withdrew huge sums of money from their accounts, they jumped into their vehicle and were driving down to the Lekki area in their operational mini-bus when they were accosted and arrested by other policemen.
The suspects’ operational vehicle, a Volkswagen mini-bus with registration number BDG 670 XR and the victims’ Toyota Camry car (registration number withheld), were later moved to the command headquarters by policemen from the Lagos State Police Command. While the victims were later allowed to drive away their car, the operational bus of the arrested police officers was confiscated and still parked at the Command headquarters in Ikeja.
Our correspondent gathered from policemen attached to the Command headquarters that during interrogation, the civilian suspect allegedly owned up to the offences and also confessed that they had been carrying out such criminal activities for a sometime now. He allegedly said that was not their first time of carrying out such criminal operation. He allegedly pleaded that his “involvement was caused by the devil. He blamed the devil for the act. He claimed to be the driver of the suspected criminal policemen.
The authoritative source further said, “When they forced the two victims to bring out their ATM, they allowed them one after the other to go and withdrew the money from the ATM while they (policemen) monitored them from their vehicle. But unknown to them, one of the victims cleverly brought out his mobile phone and communicated with his relation, informing him about their predicament. The receiver in turn forwarded the message to the Area ‘J’ Elemoro Commander (ACP Gbolahan Olugbemi), who in turn ordered the then Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ilasan Police Station, CSP Onyinye Onwuamaegbu, to station her officers and men at strategic positions.
“The Area Commander also called the Divisional Police Officers of Maroko, Langbasa, Ajah, Ogombo and some policemen attached to the Rapid Response Squad of the Command to remain on alert, after passing the information about the make and colours of the vehicles involved in the operation.
“The policemen led by the Ilasan Divisional Police Officer, CSP Onyinye Onwuamaegbu, were able to waylay the suspects at the Lekki Beach Roundabout, Lekki. The four police officers and their civilian accomplice were arrested while the other police officers and men rescued the two victims.
“The suspects were moved to the Area ‘J’ Elemoro Police Command, after which the Area Commander, ACP Gbolahan Olugbemi, moved the suspects and the victims to the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, here in Ikeja. The X-Squad unit was investigating the matter and that was during the time the Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, was the Lagos State Police Command
boss. Later, the case was referred to the command’s Provost Marshal for orderly room trial. People really showered encomiums on
the divisional police officer of Ilasan (CSP Onwuamaegbu) for her display of bravery in nabbing the suspected police officers. Fortunately, the police officers are not attached to the Lagos State Police Command. If the policemen did not arrest them now, the civilians would have believed that the perpetrators were attached to our command (Lagos State
Police).
They are supposed to be in jail by now and I don’t know why they are delaying this. The Provost Marshal should charge the case to court without further
delay.”