A group of men believed to be robbers, and dressed in police uniform, Tuesday, reportedly stood at the Anthony end of the Ikorodu Road, Lagos state, stopping vehicles and extorting money from them, The Punch reports.
The gang were also said to have harassed motorists, including a man, who they locked inside the boot of his car.
Reports say when the man got to the police post, the gang flagged him down and asked him to park. Thinking the suspects were policemen, he came out of his car only to be beaten up by the fake policemen.
They were said to have broken into his vehicle while he was bundled and locked inside the boot of the car.
An eyewitness reportedly put a distress call across to the police, and men of the Anthony police division moved to the scene and arrested a member of the team, one Erinfolami while other members escaped.
The Lagos State Police Command has said it is on the trail of other members of the robbery gang.
The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Dolapo Badmos, who confirmed the arrest, said the suspects had been transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja, for further investigation.
Badmos noted that the victim was rescued when the policemen arrived at the scene.
A police source disclosed that investigation showed that the runaway gang members included two dismissed policemen, who supplied the gang with uniforms, while other members were impersonators.
The source said, “We got information that there were policemen at a checkpoint on Ikorodu Road, stopping motorists and extorting money from them.
“So, policemen from the Anthony division mobilised to the scene to verify the information. Truly, there we met them. There were actually two dismissed policemen leading that gang.
“They had locked a motorist inside the boot of his car for unknown reason, and they were escaping with the vehicle when the police arrived at the scene. So, they abandoned the vehicle and fled. But one of them was arrested.
“The motorist explained that he thought he was stopped by genuine policemen until they manhandled him and locked him up.”
Also confirming the incident, the Commissioner of Police, CP, Fatai Owoseni, said “The gang had taken possession of the vehicle and put the motorist in the boot of his car.
“The suspect in custody is helping investigation while efforts are on to arrest other members.
“The command would continue to beam its searchlight on fake policemen who extorted money from unsuspecting civilians on the roads.
“We will continue to expose these criminals and take appropriate actions. Lagos residents should understand that not every gun-wielding man wearing police uniform is actually a genuine policeman,” the CP added.
Comments