It was the end of the road for 24-year-old Abdullahi Umar, who usually disguised himself as a scavenger to attack unsuspecting victims and dispossess them of their valuables in the Ojota area of Lagos State.
Umar was nabbed by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) on a patrol in the Ojota area and is currently in detention at the state Police Command where he confessed to the crime via a statement.
According to a police source, the suspect was hiding among the flowers when the police picked him up.
The suspect from Kawo Local Government Area of Kaduna State, was said to have belonged to a gang, which usually disguised as scavengers and hid arms and other sophisticated weapons in their trucks, with which they attack people.
Umar, told the police that he had a trader in the Mile 2 area who usually received the stolen property from him, according to Punch.
He said, “I usually disguised as a scavenger to rob people in the area. I work with other gang members such as Papa, John, Muscle and Akeem. We are a group and we normally attack people during the night.
“I have a trader who owns a shop at Mile 2 in Lagos. I sell whatever I took from my victims to him like phones wristwatches and jewellery. I am ready to cooperate with the police to arrest other members of the gang.”
One of the victims reportedly robbed by the suspect, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the money stolen from him had yet to be found.
He said, “I was coming from Ketu, along the road leading to the Chinese Town, to board a bus to my office. The hoodlum suddenly jumped out from a bush and attacked me with a cutlass. He collected my phone and purse containing N1,700, my Identity card and a bank teller. The items were recovered by the police, but the money inside the purse had vanished.”
Meanwhile, the RRS Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, said efforts were on to apprehend other members of the gang.
He said, “The police, while on a patrol duty, saw two people crying for assistance after they had been robbed by the suspect. Both victims were on the way to their different places of work.
“Immediately, the policemen combed the area, and the suspect was arrested. The police would go after the fleeing members of the robbery syndicate, and we will charge the suspect to court when investigations are concluded.”
