How We Arrested “One-Chance” Robbers in Abule-Egba -LASTMA

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) on Thursday narrated how its men apprehended an armed robbery syndicate using the signature yellow-and-black buses of Lagos (danfo) to lure their victims before dispossessing them of their valuables.

According to LASTMA’s Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, Adebayo Taofiq, luck ran out of the three-man syndicate when passersby pursued them in an attempt to arrest them, after they pushed one of their victims off a moving bus.

- Advertisement -

Their modus operandi is for two of them to pretend to be public transporters (driver and conductor) while the third acts like a passenger. After boarding their vehicles, they attack their victims, injuring them and stealing their valuables before dropping them off at a quiet place or pushing them off a moving vehicle.

Taofiq said, while two of the highway robbers were arrested, the third robber escaped with some dangerous weapons they use and  a P.O.S machine. They were arrested at the popular U-turn area with their operational vehicle, -a painted ‘T4’ commercial bus (APP 406 YE), adding that they usually operate around the busy Jubilee Bridge in the area. 

The LASTMA spokesperson said: “Preliminary investigations revealed that they were notorious ‘one-chance’ armed robbers terrorising the entire Abule-Egba and its environs.

“Investigation further revealed that they were being chased by members of the public after they noticed that  a man was pushed down from their vehicle after robbing him of his valuables.

The Robbers’ Operational Vehicle

“They drove recklessly in order to evade arrest before they were eventually caught by Lastma officials controlling and managing traffic around the Abule-Egba axis.

“The two suspects were later handed over to Police men from the ‘Ile-Epo’ Police Division for further investigation.” Taofiq explained.

LASTMA General Manager, Bakare Oki Olalekan has however appealed to members of the public particularly commuters to be very vigilant and stop boarding commercial buses by road side popularity called ‘So-le’