The Special Anti- Robbery Squad in the Lagos State Police Command has reportedly arrested 16 armed robbery suspects at Ajegunle area of Lagos State with the help of a Close Circuit Television (CCTV).
The robbery suspects were said to have attacked some people in their shops at a two- storey building on Layinka Street, Ajegunle.
The Point learnt that the cutlass and gun-wielding robbers attacked a business woman simply called Mrs Wasiu and carted away a huge amount of money meant to pay for the supply of soft drinks.
I installed a CCTV camera in my house, so we were able to watch it and saw those that perpetrated the act. We watched the film with policemen attached to SARS, Ajegunle Police Station
Wasiu, her husband, said the robbers arrived at her shop at about 5pm on the fateful day.
He said, “The robbers were over 30. They came around 5pm to rob my wife and my tenant who operates a salon with customers around. I was not there really. They said one of the armed robbers brought out a gun and another ordered that nobody should move or the person would be killed.
“Out of fear, everybody handed over their money, handsets and other valuables to them. Some boys in the area saw them and identified two of them. I installed a CCTV camera in my house, so we were able to watch it and saw those that perpetrated the act. We watched the film with policemen attached to SARS, Ajegunle Police Station.
“That very day, SARS arrested five of them and more later. They have arrested 16 armed robbers that perpetrated the act. Others are on the run; they are still looking for them. As the robbers were leaving my premises, they were robbing people and injuring some of them. One of my friends, Adeoye, was injured with a cutlass.
“They matcheted him on the head and collected the N6,000 on him with one mobile phone. They also snatched the handset of a young woman who walked into them on the fateful day. They almost raped her as many of them were caressing her body.”
Another victim, Charles Bassey, said, “The robbers were so many; they attacked me. They went away with my N2, 500 and my handset. They were slapping me, saying that I was an old man, if not, they would have used the cutlass on me. They were about 30. They were robbing people as they moved. I thank God that they did not injure me.”
A man, who identified himself as Daniel Momoh, said one of them hit his mouth.
He added, “I was walking along Layinka Street when I saw people running, but before I could escape, they were already close to me. They warned that if I ran, they would injure me. I handed out the sum of N1,200 that I had on me to them. One of them ordered me to bring out my handset and I gave it to them. There was nothing that I could do; I could not shout because people who were in the area were panicking and were running to save their lives.
“Layinka community is now a den of armed robbers. Police are even tired of the crime rate in the area. Everyday, they would invade the area and rob people of their valuables. I thank God they did not injure me. The other day, my friend, Ike was attacked. He is still recuperating in a hospital.”
