Three arrested for stealing, attempted fraud

Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Lagos State Police Command, have arrested a three-man gang said to be specialists in robbing and defrauding unsuspecting members of the public. The suspects; Eyiema Bassey, 35; Azuibike Ogbamgwor, 27, Daniel Nwnubam, 33, were arrested at Ikeja, Lagos at about 11.00 p.m. on Tuesday, last week. It was […]

Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Lagos State Police Command, have arrested a three-man gang said to be specialists in robbing and defrauding unsuspecting members of the public.
The suspects; Eyiema Bassey, 35; Azuibike Ogbamgwor, 27, Daniel Nwnubam, 33, were arrested at Ikeja, Lagos at about 11.00 p.m. on Tuesday, last week.
It was learnt that the suspects had deceived their latest victim, 24-year-old Lucas Olusola, into parting with a mobile phone as deposit for goods he was about to be offered by the trio inside the Ikeja Computer Village.
Confessing to the alleged crime, the suspected leader of the gang, Bassey, said; “We collected the phone from him at Ikeja at about 8.00 p.m. while he was on his way to Conoil filling station in Ikeja. We accosted him when he was approaching Ikeja under-bridge and talked to him in fake foreign accents, claiming that we were from a Francophone country and wanted to strike a business deal with him.
“What we usually do is that, we would first engage a passer-by and secure his attention. Later, we would tell him that we are foreigners and that we have brought goods to Nigeria. Then, we would tell him to deposit money for the goods. But for this guy, he said he had no money and he deposited his phone.
“He told us that he was going home to get money and we told him where to meet us. Suddenly, I think he realised that he was dealing with fraudsters and he attempted to get his phone back but one of us, Nwanubam, decided to drag the phone with him before absconding. As part of our plan, Nwanubam was to pretend as a stranger and intervene, and later escaped with the phone. Unfortunately for us, he absconded with the phone and he was caught. He was then handed over to the RRS men.”
Eko Trust learnt that it was Nwanubam who later led the RRS operatives to the gang’s hideout at Ikeja where the remaining members of the gang were nabbed in the night.
The suspects claimed that they resorted to crime out of joblessness, stressing that they went out daily to seek people to prey on.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Dolapo Badmus confirmed the arrest, adding that the three gang members would soon be charged to court.